Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 151, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 4, 1990Adair County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 1990, 5:37 PM CDT for Adair County, Iowa. It was in force for 38 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
Jul 4, 1990, 5:37 PM CDT (22:37 UTC)
Expired
Jul 4, 1990, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Adair 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
Jul 4, 5:54 PM CDTHail 1Adair, 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, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 159 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 1990-07-04Temperature 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 1990-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -57 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
3633 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-30 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 042238
SVRDSM
IAC001-042315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
537 PM CDT WED JUL 4 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHWEST IOWA
          ...NORTHWESTERN ADAIR
 
AT 535 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR IN DES MOINES INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING OVER NORTHWEST ADAIR COUNTY...OR ABOUT 50
MILES WEST OF DES MOINES.
 
THE STORM WAS NEARLY STATIONARY.  THIS STORM WILL AFFECT RURAL AREAS
OF ADAIR COUNTY.  LARGE HAIL AND EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

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, Jul 4, 4:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
IAZ003-007>015-050230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
405 PM CDT WED THE FOURTH OF JULY 1990

...EXCESSIVE HEAT OVER MUCH OF IOWA INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...

THE HEAT INDEX HAS REACHED HIGH LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON.  TEMPERATURES
IN THE 90S TO AROUND 100 DEGREES...COMBINED WITH THE RATHER HIGH
RELATIVE HUMIDITY...HAVE PRODUCED A HEAT INDEX OF 105 TO 115 DEGREES
THIS AFTERNOON.  THESE READING WILL SLOWLY LOWER DURING THE EVENING.

PEOPLE WORKING OUT-OF-DOORS...THOSE LIVING IN UN-AIRCONDITIONED SPACES
...THE ELDERLY...AND PEOPLE IN POOR HEALTH SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS
PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THESE CONDITIONS OR STRENUOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
CAN LEAD TO HEAT EXHAUSTION OR POSSIBLE HEAT STROKE.

HOUSEHOLD PETS ALSO NEED TO BE WATCHED...TO AVOID DANGERS OF THE HEAT.

AT 400 PM TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 90S TO NEAR 100 OVER MUCH OF
IOWA...WITH FAIRLY HIGH HUMIDITY.  THIS COMBINATION OF HEAT AND
HUMIDITY HAS RESULTED IN HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 110 DEGREES.  THESE
CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE AS THE TEMPERATURES DROP NEAR SUNSET.

MEANWHILE THE HEAT INDICES WILL CONTINUE TO BE HIGH.  IF YOU PLAN ANY
OUTDOOR ACTIVITY...EVEN JUST BEING OUT TO VIEW FIWREWORKS...USE CAUTION
AND SEEK HELP IF YOU BEGIN TO SUFFER THE EFFECTS OF THE HEAT.

DOWD
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 4:04 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
IAZ003-007>015-050230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
405 PM CDT WED THE FOURTH OF JULY 1990

...EXCESSIVE HEAT OVER MUCH OF IOWA INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...

THE HEAT INDEX HAS REACHED HIGH LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON.  TEMPERATURES
IN THE 90S TO AROUND 100 DEGREES...COMBINED WITH THE RATHER HIGH
RELATIVE HUMIDITY...HAVE PRODUCED A HEAT INDEX OF 105 TO 115 DEGREES
THIS AFTERNOON.  THESE READING WILL SLOWLY LOWER DURING THE EVENING.

PEOPLE WORKING OUT-OF-DOORS...THOSE LIVING IN UN-AIRCONDITIONED SPACES
...THE ELDERLY...AND PEOPLE IN POOR HEALTH SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS
PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THESE CONDITIONS OR STRENUOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
CAN LEAD TO HEAT EXHAUSTION OR POSSIBLE HEAT STROKE.

HOUSEHOLD PETS ALSO NEED TO BE WATCHED...TO AVOID DANGERS OF THE HEAT.

AT 400 PM TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 90S TO NEAR 100 OVER MUCH OF
IOWA...WITH FAIRLY HIGH HUMIDITY.  THIS COMBINATION OF HEAT AND
HUMIDITY HAS RESULTED IN HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 110 DEGREES.  THESE
CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE AS THE TEMPERATURES DROP NEAR SUNSET.

MEANWHILE THE HEAT INDICES WILL CONTINUE TO BE HIGH.  IF YOU PLAN ANY
OUTDOOR ACTIVITY...EVEN JUST BEING OUT TO VIEW FIXREWORKS...USE CAUTION
AND SEEK HELP IF YOU BEGIN TO SUFFER THE EFFECTS OF THE HEAT.

DOWD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 4, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Madison45 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.