Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 138, NWS Des Moines, IA

June 30, 1990Van Buren County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 30, 1990, 8:24 AM CDT for Van Buren County, Iowa. It was in force for 36 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
Jun 30, 1990, 8:24 AM CDT (13:24 UTC)
Expired
Jun 30, 1990, 9:00 AM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Van Buren 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
Jun 30, 8:25 AM CDTHail 1.75Van Buren, 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 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 376 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 12:00Z on 1990-06-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1990-06-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3663 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 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 301325
SVRDSM
IAC177-301400-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
824 AM CDT SAT JUN 30 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST IOWA
          ...EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN VAN-BUREN
 
AT 822 AM...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
SOUTHEAST VAN BUREN COUNTY NEAR FARMINGTON...ABOUT 45 SOUTHEAST OF
OTTUMWA.
 
THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL BE AFFECTITHE CITY OF FARMINGTON.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...D-EADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
TRUETT/BARLOW

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, Jun 30, 5:38 AM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
IAZ001>015-301400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
540 AM CDT SAT JUN 30 1990

DENSE FOG HAS FORMED OVER PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL INTO NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL IOWA EARLY THIS MORNING.  VISIBILITIES WERE NEAR ZERO
TO ONLY A FEW HUNDRED FEET IN MANY AREAS.

VISIBILITIES SHOULD IMPROVE CONSIDERABLY BETWEEN 8 AND 9AM THIS
MORNING BUT IN THE MEANTIME TRAVELERS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE
EXTRA CAREFUL...SLOW DOWN...AND UcSE THEIR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS.

ADAMS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 29, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXWright40 min
Jun 30, 9:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXVan Buren36 min
Jun 30, 10:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXVan Buren25 min
Jun 30, 1:05 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXDavis, Van Buren4 hr
Jun 30, 1:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis, Van Buren45 min
Jun 30, 2:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWarren37 min
Jun 30, 3:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison37 min
Jun 30, 3:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Lucas37 min
Jun 30, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWarren30 min
Jun 30, 3:42 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXMadison, Warren33 min
Jun 30, 4:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Union44 min
Jun 30, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur, Wayne41 min
Jun 30, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur54 min
Jun 30, 4:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska51 min
Jun 30, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXRinggold, Union48 min
Jun 30, 4:57 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXDecatur33 min
Jun 30, 5:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXMahaska4 hr
Jun 30, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXAdams, Union27 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.