Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1989, 8:31 PM CDT for 4 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 59 min. 4 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
- May 24, 1989, 8:31 PM CDT (01:31 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 1989, 9:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 59 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Appanoose County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Monroe County, IA, Wayne 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 24, 8:32 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Wayne, IA | |
| May 24, 8:35 PM CDT | Hail 1.5 | Appanoose, IA | |
| May 24, 8:50 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Appanoose, IA | |
| May 24, 9:12 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Appanoose, 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, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 278 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
- 3561 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -63 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 92 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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, May 24, 5:08 PM CDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 510 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF IOWA UNTIL 10 PM... AT 505 PM...AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM HAD RAPIDLY DEVELOPED IN SOUTHWEST IOWA...NEAR RED OAK OR 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OMAHA/COUNCIL BLUFFS. THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL. THIS STORM WAS MOVING MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS CONTINUED OVER MNORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA 30 MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM HUMBOLDT...10 MILES NORTH OF FORT DODGE EAST TO WATERLOO. MOVEMENT OF THESE SHOWERS WAS NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. BARLOW
Special weather statement, May 24, 5:43 PM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 545 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF IOWA UNTIL 10 PM... AT 535 PM...AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHWEST IOWA ALONG THE MONTGOMERY/ADAMS COUNTY LINE ABOUT 15 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF RED OAK. VERY HEAVY...WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR AND LARGE HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD DEVELOPED AROUND HUMBOLDT AROUND ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF FORT DODGE. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS WERE LOCATED OVER NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL IN AN AREA BOUNDED BY THE CITIES OF CEDAR RAPIDS...WATERLOO AND MONTEZUMA...50 MILES EAST OF DES MOINES. THESE SHOWERS WERE ALSO MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. BARLOW/GOODSON
Special weather statement, May 24, 6:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 638 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF IOWA UNTIL 10 PM... AT 635 PM...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. OVER NORTH CENTRAL IOWA THE STORM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 60 MILES NORTH OF DES MOINES...NEAR WEBSTER CITY. IN SOUTHWEST IOWA AN INTENSE STORM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES NEAR CRESTON. OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES NEAR GREENFIELD. ANOTHER STRONG STORM WAS LOCATED 70 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES...OR JUST NORTH OF BEDFORD. OVER NORTH CENTRAL A THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST NORTHWEST OF MASON CITY. ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS WERE LOCATED OVER NORTHEAST IOWA BETWEEN WATERLOO AND DUBUQUE. MOVEMENT OF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WAS EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES AN HOUR. BARLOW/GOODSON
Special weather statement, May 24, 7:48 PM CDT, 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 745 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989 ...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF IOWA UNTIL 10 PM... AT 735 PM...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL IOWA. OVER SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA A COMPLEX OF OF VERY STRONG STORMS WAS CENTERED ALONG THE RINGOLD...DECATUR...UNION AND CLARKE COUNTY LINES. THE STRONGEST CELL IN THIS AREA WAS LOCATED 55 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES OR ABOUT 5 MILES EAST OF MT AYR. ANOTHER INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING FROM CENTRAL INTO NORTHEAST IOWA. THIS STORM WAS CENTERED ABOUT 45 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF DES MOINES...OR 15 MILES WEST OF MARSHALLTOWN. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EASnT AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. BARLOW/GOODSON
Special weather statement, May 24, 8:21 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
750 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989
...PORTIONS OF TORNADO WATCH DISCONTINUED...
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE NO LONGER IN THE TORNADO WATCH...
CARROLL...GREENE...AUDUBON...GUTHRIE...CASS...ADAIR.
CORBETTSpecial weather statement, May 24, 8:27 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
825 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989
...PORTIONS OF TORNADO WATCH DISCONTINUED...
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE NO LONGER IN THE TORNADO WATCH...
MONTGOMERY...ADAMS...FREMONT...PAGE...TAYLOR.
CORBETTThe office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 7:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Hardin, Story | 39 min |
| May 24, 7:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Decatur | 67 min |
| May 24, 7:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Clarke | 58 min |
| May 24, 7:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Marshall | 26 min |
| May 24, 7:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Mitchell | 50 min |
| May 24, 7:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Marshall | 45 min |
| May 24, 8:10 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Poweshiek, Tama | 50 min |
| May 24, 8:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Floyd, Howard | 60 min |
| May 24, 8:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Chickasaw, Fayette, Winneshiek | 29 min |
| May 24, 8:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Benton, Iowa | 56 min |
| May 24, 9:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Davis | 68 min |
| May 24, 9:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Poweshiek | 23 min |
| May 24, 9:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Johnson, Linn | 66 min |
| May 24, 9:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Iowa | 27 min |
| May 24, 10:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Washington | 46 min |
| May 24, 10:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Johnson | 32 min |
| May 24, 10:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Johnson, Washington | 23 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.