Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

August 22, 1988Cherokee County, O'Brien County, Plymouth County, Iowa

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 22, 1988, 12:56 AM CDT for Cherokee County, O'Brien County, Plymouth County, Iowa. It was in force for 64 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 22, 1988, 12:56 AM CDT (05:56 UTC)
Expired
Aug 22, 1988, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cherokee County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Plymouth County, IA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 22, 1:02 AM CDTHail 1.75Cherokee, IA
Aug 22, 1:30 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50O'Brien, IA
Aug 22, 2:00 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Plymouth, IA

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 176 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1988-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1988-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
143 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KSUX 220558
SVRSUX
IAC035-141-149-220700-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX CITY IA
1256 AM CDT MON AUG 22 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTHWEST IOWA
          ...CHEROKEE...OBRIEN...PLYMOUTH
 
AT 1250 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING FROM THE IOWA-SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER JUST NORTHWEST OF
AKRON...28 MILES NORTHWEST OF SIOUX CITY...TO NEAR MARCUS IN CHEROKEE
COUNTY...41 MILES NORTHEAST OF SIOUX CITY. MOVEMENT OF THESE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WAS EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
 
REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH...LARGE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAINS THAT CAN
QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM
TAKE SHELTER IN A REINFORCED BUILDINGk IMMEDIATELY.
SHERLIN

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, Aug 21, 10:56 PM CDT, 2 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1100 PM CDT SUN AUG 21 1988

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 409 HAS EXPIRED...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 409 WHICH ORIGINALLY COVERED
PARTS OF SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...AND NORTHWEST
IOWA EXPIRED AT 1100 PM CDT. THERE IS NO LONGER A THREAT OF SEVERE
WEATHER IN THIS AREA.

ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY
TONIGHT ACROSS THE LOCAL TRI STATE AREA SURROUNDING SIOUX FALLS.
BRIEF HEAVY RAINS WITH SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY RESULT IN SOME
TEMPORARY URBAN STREET FLOODING DUE TO THE INTENSITY OF THE TROPICAL
DOWNPOURS.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE SIOUX FALLS AREA RANGE FROM 1.50 TO 3.00 INCHES
...AND THERE MAY BE SOME HEAVIER AMOUNTS IN THE LOCAL TRI STATE AREA.
IF YOU HAVE A RELIABLE RAINGAGE...THEN RELAY YOUR RAINFALL TOTAL TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE AT SIOUX FALLS.
KAPELA
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX CITY IA
1107 PM CDT SUN AUG 21 1988

 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST IOWA HAS EXPIRED....

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST
IOWA HAS EXPIRED. ALTHOUGH THE WATCH HAS EXPIRED..AT 1055 PM RADAR
INDICATED THAT AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD REDEVLOPED IN
SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. THE STORMS ARE LOCATED FROM YANKTON SOUTH
DAKOTA...55 MILES NORTHWEST OF SIOUX CITY TO HAWARDEN IOWA...
37 MILES NORTH OF SIOUX CITY. HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTING AND
45 TO 50 MPH WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS AS THEY MOVE EAST
AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

TANNER
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:39 PM CDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HURON SD
1140 PM CDT SUN AUG 21 1988

AT 1130 PM CDT...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED ACROSS
SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST IOWA.
THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH DAKOTA WERE SOUTH AND EAST
OF A LINE FROM BROOKINGS TO MITCHELL TO YANKTON.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA HAVE VARIED FROM
1 TO 3 INCHES OVER THE LAST SEVERAL HOURS AND HAVE CAUSED SOME STREET
FLOODING IN THE SIOUX FALLS AREA.

ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WITH HEAVY RAIN...ARE
LIKELY LATER TONIGHT OVER SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKO6TA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA.

FLOODING OF STREETS AND ROADSIDE DITCHES IS LIKELY LATER TONIGHT...
ALONG WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND PEA SIZE HAIL.
STOREY
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:48 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX CITY IA
1145 PM CDT SUN AUG 21 1988

 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST IOWA...

AT 1140 PM CDT A 30 MILE WIDE BAND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY
HEAVY RAIN WAS LOCATED NORTH OF A LINE FROM NEAR BERESFORD SOUTH
DAKOTA IN NORTHWEST UNION COUNTY...ABOUT 44 MILES NORTHWEST OF SIOUX
CITY TO ABOUT 30 MILES NORTH OF SIOUX CITY NEAR HAWARDEN IOWA TO
CHEROKEE IOWA WHICH IS ABOUT 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF SIOUX CITY.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH AND WERE PASSING OVER
AREAS THAT ALREADY RECIEVED HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT.

FLOODING OF STREETS AND ROADSIDE DITC,HES IS LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS
AS WELL AS DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

PHILLIPS
Special weather statement, Aug 22, 12:47 AM CDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HURON SD
1240 AM CDT MON AUG 22 1988

AT 1230 AM CDT...NUMEROUS INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
...CONTINUED OVER MUCH OF SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...
NORTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA.

THESE STORMS WERE MOSTLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM FLANDREAU TO BONESTEEL
WITH A THE HEAVIEST STORMS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTH OF ALCESTER...25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF SIOUX CITY IOWA...10 MILES SOUTH OF YANKTON...10 MILES
NORTHWEST OF AVON AND JUST SOUTHWEST OF BRIDGEWATER.  A SLIGHT INCREASE
IN INTENSITY WAS NOTED.

PERSONS IN THE SOUTHEAST PARTS OF THE STATE SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS THESE
STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAIN
AND HAIL.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
PFEIFFER
Local storm report, Aug 22, 12:50 AM CDT, 6 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1250 AM CDT MON AUG 22 1988

STORM DATA FOR SUNDAY AUG 22 1988

 TIME            COUNTY..LOCATION           CHARACTER OF STORM..DAMAGE
.......................................................................

 1130 PM CDT    YANKTON...AT MAYFIELD      GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL PUT DENTS
                                           INTO CARS.
KAPELA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDSioux64 min
Aug 22, 2:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDWoodbury56 min
Aug 22, 2:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDMonona62 min
Aug 22, 3:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDIda, Woodbury68 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.