Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Omaha, NE

July 15, 1988Pottawattamie County, Iowa

NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 1988, 4:11 PM CDT for Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It was in force for 34 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
Jul 15, 1988, 4:11 PM CDT (21:11 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1988, 4:45 PM CDT
In force
34 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 15, 4:14 PM CDTTornado F2Pottawattamie, IA
Jul 15, 4:16 PM CDTTornado F3Pottawattamie, IA
Jul 15, 4:19 PM CDTTornado F1Pottawattamie, 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

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 421 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1988-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3618 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1988-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 309 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
3618 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-261 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1179 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
309 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
286 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 2:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXLancaster61 min
Jul 15, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy, Saunders62 min
Jul 15, 3:31 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy29 min
Jul 15, 3:57 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy33 min
Jul 15, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXGage18 min
Jul 15, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPawnee48 min
Jul 15, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXOtoe39 min
Jul 15, 4:44 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXMills, Pottawattamie31 min
Jul 15, 5:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXMills, Montgomery, Pottawattamie59 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.