Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Des Moines, IA

April 27, 1989Calhoun County, Carroll County, Sac County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Apr 27, 1989, 8:44 PM CDT for Calhoun County, Carroll County, Sac County, Iowa. It was in force for 61 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
Apr 27, 1989, 8:44 PM CDT (01:44 UTC)
Expired
Apr 27, 1989, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Sac 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
Apr 27, 9:09 PM CDTTornado F1Calhoun, 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, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1989-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 17 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1989-04-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
17 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-176 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3565 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 280146
TORDSM
IAC161-025-027-280245-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
844 PM CDT THU APR 27 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

   IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF IOWA
      EASTERN SAC...CALHOUN...NORTHWEST CARROLL

AT 840 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
JUST NORTHWEST OF CARROLL NEAR BREDA...OR ABOUT 45 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF FORT DODGE.

THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR..AND WILL BE
AFFECTING THE CITIES OF BREDA...LAKE CITY...AND ROCKWELL CITY.
<
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THI\S STORM...TAKE COVER AT ONCE.

BARLOW/TRUETT

What 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

Local storm report, Apr 27, 3:00 PM CDT, 5 hours 44 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
300 PM CDT THU APR 27 1989

THE FOLLOWING ARE ADDITIONAL STORM REPORTS OBTAINED TODAY FROM THE
SEVERE WEATHER EVENT IN IOWA WHICH TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
AND EVENING (WEDNESDAY APRIL 26).

TIME OF EVENT          EVENT

700 PM                 DIME TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL FELL IN THE FAIRFIELD
                       AREA IN JEFFERSON COUNTY.

730 PM                 A ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF A GARAGE IN THE CITY OF
                       OTTUMWA IN WAPELLO COUNTY.

744 PM                 WINDOWS IN SOME HOUSES IN NORTHEAST VAN BUREN
                       COUNTY WERE BROKEN DUE TO DIME TO QUARTER SIZED
                       HAIL BORNE ON HIGH WINDS.
/
END/BIKLE
Special weather statement, Apr 27, 3:36 PM CDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
337 PM CDT THU APR 27 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PART OF WESTERN IOWA
UNTIL 8 PM...

ALTHOUGH A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT...THERE WAS NO PRECIPITATION
IN THE STATE OF IOWA AT 330 PM.

BARLOW
Special weather statement, Apr 27, 4:43 PM CDT, 4 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
442 PM CDT THU APR 27 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A SMALL PART OF WESTERN IOWA
UNTIL 8 PM...

THERE HAS BEEN NO SEVERE WEATHER REPORTED IN IOWA SINCE 335 PM.

AT 435 PM...A SMALL CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED
OVER SOUTHEAST IOWA. THE PRECIPITATION WAS LOCATED AROUND THE CITIES
OF BRIGHTON...WASHINGTON AND WAPELLO. A THUNDERSTORM HAD ALSO DEVELOPED
AROUND BLOOMFIELD. THE AREA OF DEVELOPMENT WAS BETWEEN THE CITIES OF
OTTUMWA...BURLINGTON AND THE QUAD CITIES.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

BARLOW
Special weather statement, Apr 27, 8:17 PM CDT, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
815 PM CDT THU APR 27 1989

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CRAWFORD COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL
   IOWA...

AT 815 PM...SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH CRAWFORD
COUNTY.  ONE STORM WAS OVER SOUTHEAST CRAWFORD COUNTY...WHILE ANOTHER
CLUSTER OF STORMS WAS OVER NORTHWEST SHELBY AND EASTERN HARRISON
COUNTIES.  THESE AREAS ARE SOME 40 TO 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF COUNCIL
BLUFFS.

SO FAR...THESE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED LOTS OF PEA TO MARBLE SIZED
HAIL...AND WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

ALTHOUGH NO SEVERE WEATHER IS INDICATED AT THIS TIME...PEOPLE IN
CRAWFORD COUNTY SHOULD REMAIN ALERT.  REMEMBER...A TORNADO- WATCH IS
IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM.
<
TRUETT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 27, 7:08 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXDavis, Van Buren22 min
Apr 27, 7:33 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXVan Buren27 min
Apr 27, 8:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Carroll37 min
Apr 27, 10:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Adams, Cass40 min
Apr 27, 10:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXRinggold, Taylor, Union40 min
Apr 27, 10:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Madison42 min
Apr 27, 10:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur42 min
Apr 27, 11:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Polk, Warren40 min
Apr 27, 11:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJasper, Marion49 min
Apr 27, 11:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXLucas, Monroe48 min
Apr 28, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose, Monroe44 min
Apr 28, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJasper, Mahaska, Poweshiek44 min
Apr 28, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarion44 min
Apr 28, 12:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis, Wapello44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes 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.