Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 189, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 7, 1990, 5:39 PM CDT for Buena Vista 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
- Sep 7, 1990, 5:39 PM CDT (22:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 7, 1990, 6:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Buena Vista 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 6:00 PM CDT | Hail 2 | Buena Vista, 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, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 187 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
- 3615 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -28 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 1 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, Sep 7, 3:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
IAZALL-072130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 342 PM CDT FRI SEP 7 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS FRIDAY EVENING... AT 335 PM...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN TIER OF IOWAS COUNTIES. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE STILL LOCATED IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...HOWEVER STRONG STORMS WERE APPROACHING THE SPIRIT LAKE AREA SOME 25 MILES NORTH OF SPENCER. PEOPLE ON SPIRIT LAKE SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFE HARBOR AS THESE STORMS APPROACH. THE SHOWERS AND STORMS OVER NORTHERN IOWA WERE LOCATED NORTH OF A LINE FROM SPIRIT LAKE EAST TO DECORAH. SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS WERE OCCURRING FROM SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL IOWA. THESE SHOWERS WERE ALONG AND 20 MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 10 SOUTHEAST OF OMAHA/CONCIL BLUFFS EAST TO WINTERSET OR 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES. THE S4HOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. BARLOW/MILLER
Special weather statement, Sep 7, 4:10 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
IAZ002-003-007-072200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WEATHER UPDATE FOR NORTHEAST IOWA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WATERLOO IA 405 PM CDT FRI SEP 7 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 800 PM CDT... A 405 PM CDT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG THE IOWA/MINNESOTA BORDER FROM NORTHWEST OF MASON CITY TO EAST OF DECORAH ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. ELSEWHERE IN NORTHEAST IOWA THE SKIES WERE PARTLY CLOUDY. THE TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE UPPER 70S AND LOWER 80S. THE WINDS WERE SOUTHEAST AT 5 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR. AT 500 PM CDT THE SKY OVER NORTHEAST IOWA SHOULD BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ABOUT ANYWHERE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN STEADY WITH VARIABLE WINDS 5 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR. SOME HALF INCH HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE TORNADO WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPID_ CHANGES IN THE WEATHER CONDITIONS. BE PREPARED TO TAKE PROTECTIVE ACTION IF SEVERE WEATHER STARTS TO OCCUR.
Special weather statement, Sep 7, 4:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, Sep 7, 4:48 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, Sep 7, 5:15 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
IAZALL-072315- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WEATHER UPDATE FOR IOWA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 515 PM CDT FRI SEP 7 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS FRIDAY EVENING... AT 503 PM...VERY STRONG AND INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER NORTHERN IOWA. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE NORTH OF A LINE FROM SIOUX CITY TO MASON CITY TO CALMAR...50 MILES NORTHEAST OF WATERLOO. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SPENCER AND 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF BUFFALO GROVE...45 MILES NORTHWEST OF MASON CITY. THE STORM NEAR SPENCER HAS DUMPED MARBLE SIZE HAIL COVERING THE GROUND BETWEEN 445 PM AND 5 PM. THESE STORMS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN...WIND GUSTING TO 50 MILES AN HOUR...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS ARE URGED TO EXERCISE CAUTION AND SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. / THE ONE TO TWO HOUR OUTLOOK IS FOR THE STORMS TO CONTINUE MOVING THROUGH NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL...AND NORTHEAST IOWA. DM
Special weather statement, Sep 7, 5:20 PM CDT, 19 minutes before
IAZ002-003-007-072300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND WEATHER UPDATE FOR NORTHEAST IOWA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WATERLOO IA 515 PM CDT FRI SEP 7 1990 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 800 PM CDT... A 515 PM CDT A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN A 30 MILE WIDE BAND WAS LOCATED FROM NORTHWEST OF MASON CITY...THEN ALONG THE MINNESOTA STATELINE TO THE DECORAH AREA AND ON TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR AND HAVE PRODUCED HAIL...WINDS OF 40 MILES AN HOUR...HEAVY RAIN AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. BY 610 PM CDT THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE AFFECTING THE AREAS IN AND NEAR NORTHWOOD...ST ANSGAR...MCINTIRE...DECORAH AND WAUKON. THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY IN AND NEAR THE TORNADO WATCH AREA. THEY COULD PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADOES ON VERY SHORT NOTICE. STAY ALERT AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE PROTECTIVE ACTION IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 3:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Emmet | 28 min |
| Sep 7, 4:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Kossuth | 40 min |
| Sep 7, 4:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Emmet, Palo Alto | 35 min |
| Sep 7, 5:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Buena Vista, Clay | 44 min |
| Sep 7, 6:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Buena Vista, Calhoun, Pocahontas, Sac | 43 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.