Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Des Moines, IA

June 13, 1990Polk County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Jun 13, 1990, 11:27 PM CDT for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 33 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 13, 1990, 11:27 PM CDT (04:27 UTC)
Expired
Jun 14, 1990, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, IA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 236 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 1990-06-14Temperature 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 00:00Z on 1990-06-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3606 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
113 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 140427
TORDSM
IAC153-140500-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1127 PM CDT WED JUN 13 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN CENTRAL IOWA
          ...EASTERN POLK
 
AT 1124 PM...A SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUDS AROUND THE PLEASANT
HILL OR 10 MILES EAST OF DES MOINES IN CENTRAL IOWA. APPARENT MOVEMENT
OF THE STORM WAS EAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.
 
CITIES AFFECTED BY THE WARNING ARE PLEASANT HILL AND ALTOONA
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITUREr.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
JM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 13, 9:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Cass63 min
Jun 13, 10:10 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXUnion50 min
Jun 13, 10:10 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXAdair, Adams20 min
Jun 13, 10:50 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXUnion40 min
Jun 13, 10:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWapello67 min
Jun 14, 12:33 AM CDTTornado WarningDMXJasper42 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.