Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 110, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 4, 1989Winneshiek County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 1989, 8:27 PM CDT for Winneshiek County, Iowa. It was in force for 48 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
Aug 4, 1989, 8:27 PM CDT (01:27 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 1989, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Winneshiek 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 4, 8:37 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 65Winneshiek, 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 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 223 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 00:00Z on 1989-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 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 00:00Z on 1989-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-212 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3541 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

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.

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 4, 6:09 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 4, 6:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 4, 7:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY   ...COR TO TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
640 PM CDT FRI AUG 4 1989

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL...
NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 1100 PM TONIGHT...

AT 625 PM...AN ISOLATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORM CONTINUED OVER NORTHEAST
IOWA...25 MILES NORTHWEST OF DUBUQUE NEAR DYERSVILLE.  LARGE HAIL
...UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER...STRONG WINDS AND EXTREME RAINS HAVE
BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.  THIS TYPE OF THUNDERSTORM CAN
PRODUCE A TORNADO WITH LITTLE WARNING.

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL
BE IN THE DUBUQUE AREA AROUND 7 PM.

THIS STORM IS DANGEROUS AND PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN NOW.

KS
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 7:09 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
710 PM CDT FRI AUG 4 1989

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL...
NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 1100 PM TONIGHT...

AT 700 PM...AN ISOLATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORM CONTINUED OVER NORTHEAST
IOWA...APPROACHING THE DUBUQUE AREA.  LARGE HAIL...UP TO ONE INCH
IN DIAMETER...STRONG WINDS...50 TO 60 MILES AN HOUR...AND EXTREME RAINS
HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL
PASS THROUGH DUBUQUE BY 8 PM.

THIS STORM IS DANGEROUS AND PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN NOW.

KS
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 7:42 PM CDT, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
740 PM CDT FRI AUG 4 1989

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL...
NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 1100 PM TONIGHT...

AT 726 PM...AN ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER NORTHEAST
IOWA...IN THE DUBUQUE AREA.  THE STORM WAS BEGINNING TO WEAKEN...
HOWEVER...SOME HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND EXTREME RAINS ARE STILL
POSSIBLE.

ALSO...SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOW ALONG THE
IOWA/MINNESOTA BORDER...FROM NORTH OF MASON CITY TO THE NORTHEAST
CORNER OF THE STATE.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN
HOUR.

KS
Local storm report, Aug 4, 8:11 PM CDT, 16 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LACROSSE  WI
8 05 PM CDT FRI AUG 5 1989

AT 557 PM...1 INCH HAIL...TREES REPORTED DOWN AT FOUNTAIN CITY
            IN BUFFALO COUNTY WI
AT 615 PM...DIME SIZE HAIL AT TREMPEALEAU IN TREMPEALEAU CO WI

AT 630 AM...DIME SIZE HAIL AT POST OFFICE IN DOWNTOWN LACROSSE
            IN LACROSSE CO WI
AT 635 PM...2 1/4 INCH HAIL IN SOUTH LACROSSE THAT BROKE WINDOWS
            IN LACROSSE CO WI
AT 700 PM...60 MILE AN HZOUR WINDS 5E VIROQUA IN VERNON CO WI

AT 720 PM...POWER FAILURE AT NWS OFFICE LACROSSE WI

AT 705 PM...11/2 INCH HAIL AT WESTBY WI IN VERNON CO

RELAYED BY NWS DSM

BRUCE/SCOTT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 8:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXChickasaw51 min
Aug 4, 8:50 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXChickasaw25 min
Aug 4, 9:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFayette50 min
Aug 4, 10:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBremer54 min
Aug 4, 11:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBuchanan34 min
Aug 5, 7:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHumboldt41 min
Aug 5, 8:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCrawford45 min
Aug 5, 8:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCarroll51 min
Aug 5, 8:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGreene, Guthrie39 min
Aug 5, 8:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBoone, Dallas44 min
Aug 5, 8:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPolk, Story50 min
Aug 5, 8:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWarren50 min
Aug 5, 9:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJasper, Marion40 min
Aug 5, 9:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarshall40 min
Aug 5, 9:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPoweshiek, Tama54 min
Aug 5, 9:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJasper, Marshall33 min
Aug 5, 10:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBenton, Iowa68 min
Aug 5, 10:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXKeokuk55 min
Aug 5, 10:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJohnson, Linn43 min
Aug 5, 10:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWashington43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1989

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.