Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Omaha, NE
NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1988, 11:04 PM CDT for Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It was in force for 26 min. 1 report 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
- May 7, 1988, 11:04 PM CDT (04:04 UTC)
- Expired
- May 7, 1988, 11:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Omaha, NE
- Area
- Whole counties
County Pottawattamie 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 11:10 PM CDT | Tornado F2 | Pottawattamie, 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, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 69 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
- 3512 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 123 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 185 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 KOMA 080404
TOROMA
IAC155-080430-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA NE
1104 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF IOWA
POTTAWATTAMIE...INCLUDING THE CITY OF COUNCIL BLUFFS
AT 1100 PM A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR NEAR OMAHA.
THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH.
PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A BASEMENT IF
AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED.
IF YWOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE OPEN...TRY TO HIDE IN A DEPRESSION LIKE
A DITCH OR CULVERT.
SIDENTS OF COUNCIL BLUFFS...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!!
GAVERSWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 7, 7:27 PM CDT, 3 hours 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA NE 725 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA UNTIL MIDNIGHT... AT 725 PM CDT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR FREMONT...ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF OMAHA AND NEAR MEAD...30 MILES WEST OF OMAHA. ANOTHER POTENIALLY SEVERE STORM WAS DEVELOPING ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF LINCOLN. THE STORM NEAR FREMONT PRODUCED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL AT 720 PM CDT. GAVERS
Special weather statement, May 7, 8:03 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN NE 800 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 ...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA... AT 800 PM CDT RADAR SHOWED A DEVELOPING LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF OMAHA SOUTHWEST THROUGH LANCASTER AND JEFFERSON COUNTY. THERE TWO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS LINE...ONE LOCATED JUST WEST OF LINCOLN AND THE OTHER IN SOUTHEAST SALINE COUNTY. HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS IS TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 40 MPH. WEST
Special weather statement, May 7, 8:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK NE 730 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 AT 725 PM CDT HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO SOUTHEAST CUMING COUNTY OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE THUNDERSTOMRS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT 35 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACOSS SOUTHEAST CUMING COUNTY FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WESTPOINT OR ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NORFOLK. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND VERY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGTHED MOVE TO A PLACE SAFETY IMMEDIATELY BUT IF TIME PERMITS GIVE YOUR REPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL W)EATHER SERVICE. DIRCKSEN0132Z
Special weather statement, May 7, 8:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN NE 835 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 ...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA... AT 830 PM CDT RADAR STILL SHOWS A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM ABOUT 60 MILES NORTH OF OMAHA SOUTHWEST THROUGH LANCASTER AND JEFFERSON COUNTY. ONE THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING THROUGH THE LINCOLN AREA...ANOTHER IS MOVING NORTHEAST OUT OF NORTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY. YET ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM IS DEVELOPING DOWN IN JEFFERSON COUNTY JUST NORTH OF FAIRBURY. THIS THUNDERSTORM...ALONG WITH THE OTHERS...IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 45 MPH. IT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE CITY OF LINCOLN AROUND 930 PM CDT. EXPECT HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WBINDS AND HAIL AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH. DAVIS
Local storm report, May 7, 9:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN NE 935 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 0930 AM...LINCOLN WEATHER SERVICE...HAIL 1 INCH DIAMETER LASTED ABOUT 5 MIN. WITH CB MOVING NORTH.
Special weather statement, May 7, 10:52 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORFOLK NE 1050 PM CDT SAT MAY 7 1988 AT 1045 PM CDT HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO SOUTHERN PLATTE COUNTY OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE THUNDERSTOMRS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN PLATTE AND WESTERN COLFAX COUNTIES. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF COLUMBUS. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN HAIL AND VERY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. PERSONS IN COLUMBUS AND SOUTHERN PLATTE COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THIS STORM UNTIL ABOUT 1120PM CDT. IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGTHED MOVE TO A PLACE SAFETY IMMEDIATELY BUT IF TIME PERMITS GIVE YOUR REPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREHST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. DIRCKSEN0350Z
The office that day
Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 8:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Harrison | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes 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.