Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 44, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 2, 1990Cerro Gordo County, Winnebago County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 2, 1990, 5:45 PM CDT for Cerro Gordo County, Winnebago County, Iowa. It was in force for 45 min. 2 reports 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
Aug 2, 1990, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 1990, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cerro Gordo County, IA, Winnebago 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
Aug 2, 5:46 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Winnebago, IA
Aug 2, 6:04 PM CDTTornado F2Winnebago, 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

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1990-08-02Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1990-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 57 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
842 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 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 KALO 022244
TORALO
IAC033-189-022330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WATERLOO IA
545 PM CDT THU AUG 2 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WATERLOO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA
          ...CERRO GORDO...WINNEBAGO
 
AT 527 AND 526 PM CDT SPOTTERS AND DEPUTIES REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS
7 MILES NORTH OF THORNTON...10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MASON CITY AND
25 MILES NORTHWEST OF MASON CITY NEAR WODEN. ANOTHER TORNADO WAS
REPORTED IN CLEAR LAKE IN CERRO GORDO COUNTY.  SEVERAL CARS IN DITCH.
THESE ARE VERY DANGEROUS STORMS.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IF IN THE
PATH OF THE TORNADO AS THEY MOVE THROUGH WINNEBAGO AND CERRO GORDO
COUNTIES IN IOWA. THIS STORM CLUSTER IS MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN
HOUR.
 
 
DURING A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN 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.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 6:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWorth61 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.