Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1987, 4:10 PM CDT for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 50 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 2, 1987, 4:10 PM CDT (21:10 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1987, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, IA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 236 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3602 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 0 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 40 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDSM 022110 SVRDSM IAC153-022200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 410 PM CDT SAT MAY 2 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF CENTRAL IOWA... POLK AT 405 PM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE STROM IN NORTHWEST POLK COUNTY ..OR AROUND 10 MILES TO THE NORTHWEST OF DES MOINES. THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL BE INTO THE GREATER DES MOINES AREA BETWEEN 415 PM AND 445 PM. AT 4 PM DIME SIZE TO 1/2 INCH SIZE HAIL OCCURED AT FISHER LAKE ON GRIMES ROAD OR JUST NORTH OF DES MOINES. REMEMBER..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH..LARGE HAIL..DEADLY LIGHTNING..AND HEAVY RAINS THAT CAN QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. WEINBRECHT/KS
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 2, 2:46 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
<PQ< SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 245 PM CDT SATURDAY MAY 2 1987 ...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO DES MOINES AND AMES... THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING TO THE WEST OF DES MOINES AND AMES AND ARE NOW MOVING INTO THESE MUNICIPALITIES. MOST REPORTS RECEIVED HAVE ONLY INCLUDED HEAVY RAINS WITH THESE STORMS ...BUT PEA SIZE HAIL WAS OBSERVED AT WAUKEE AT APPROXIMATELY 230 PM. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN THE RANGE OF 30 TO 35 MILES AN HOUR. THUS IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT BOATERS AND SWIMMERS ON AREA LAKES...INCLUDING SAYLORVILLE LAKE...HEAD IN FOR SHORE BEFORE THESE STORMS ARRIVE. LIGHTNING SAFETY PRECAUTIONS NEED ALSOY BE OBSERVED. DOWD
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 3:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Polk | 38 min |
| May 2, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Jasper | 27 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.