Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 24, 1989Johnson County, Linn County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 1989, 9:24 PM CDT for Johnson County, Linn County, Iowa. It was in force for 66 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, 9:24 PM CDT (02:24 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 1989, 10:30 PM CDT
In force: 66 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Johnson County, IA, Linn 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
May 24, 9:25 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 58	Linn, IA
May 24, 9:49 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Linn, IA
May 24, 10:20 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 53	Johnson, IA
May 24, 10:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Johnson, 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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 214 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 347 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.9

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, May 24, 6:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 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, 1 hour 36 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, 1 hour 3 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.

CORBETT

Special weather statement, May 24, 8:27 PM CDT, 57 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.

CORBETT

Special weather statement, May 24, 8:48 PM CDT, 36 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
847 PM CDT WED MAY 24 1989

...TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF IOWA UNTIL 10 PM...

AT 835 PM...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN TWO GENERAL
AREA. THE FIRST AREA WAS AN ELONGATED COMPLEX OF STORMS OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA...FROM ABOUT 30 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF
DES MOINES NEAR CHARITON SOUTHWEST TO JUST EAST OF LAMONI. THE
SECOND AREA EXTENDED FROM CENTRAL INTO NORTHEAST IOWA...FROM 30
MILES EAST OF DES MOINES NEAR NEWTON NORTHEAST TO 5 MILES SOUTH
OF WATERLOO. ANOTHER INTENSE STORM WAS LOCATED 15 MILES WEST OF
WATERLOO.

THESE STORMS WERE PART OF A LARGE BAND OF STORMS THAT WAS ABOUT 60
MILES WIDE AND EXTENDED FROM LAMONI...IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA TO THE
NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE...NORTH OF DECORAH. THIS AREA EXTENDED
INTO ADJACENT AREAS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 M"ILES AN HOUR OVER THE
NORTHEAST COUNTIES AND OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL COUNTIES
MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

BARLOW/GOODSON

Special weather statement, May 24, 9:09 PM CDT, 15 minutes before

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The 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, 8:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne	59 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, 9:48 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, 1989 Every 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.