Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Des Moines, IA

March 13, 1990Davis County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1990, 3:42 PM CST for Davis County, Iowa. It was in force for 18 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 1990, 3:42 PM CST (21:42 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1990, 4:00 PM CST
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Davis 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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 337 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1521 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 173 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
1521 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-86 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
766 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
173 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 132144
TORDSM
IAC051-132200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
342 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  400 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST IOWA
          ...NORTHEASTERN DAVIS
 
AT 340 PM...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 6 MILES EAST OF BLOOMFIELD IN DAVIS
COUNTY...ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF OTTUMWA.
 
THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL BE
AFFECTING THE CITY OF TROY.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
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.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
 
KS/TRUETT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 12, 8:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison, Polk50 min
Mar 12, 11:17 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose, Monroe33 min
Mar 12, 11:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXLucas, Wayne20 min
Mar 12, 11:53 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Decatur, Lucas52 min
Mar 13, 12:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWright17 min
Mar 13, 1:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPoweshiek27 min
Mar 13, 1:51 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTama39 min
Mar 13, 1:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCarroll35 min
Mar 13, 2:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCalhoun42 min
Mar 13, 2:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBlack Hawk49 min
Mar 13, 3:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis36 min
Mar 13, 3:57 PM CSTTornado WarningDMXJefferson, Van Buren33 min
Mar 13, 4:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBremer22 min
Mar 13, 4:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXChickasaw47 min
Mar 13, 5:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWashington49 min
Mar 13, 5:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJohnson29 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.