Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 45, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 24, 1990Clay County, Palo Alto County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 24, 1990, 3:47 PM CDT for Clay County, Palo Alto County, Iowa. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 24, 1990, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 1990, 4:15 PM CDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, IA, Palo Alto 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

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 223 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 1990-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 643 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1990-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 91 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
643 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-91 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
673 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 242048
TORDSM
IAC041-147-242115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
347 PM CDT FRI AUG 24 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTHWEST IOWA
          ...NORTHEASTERN CLAY...NORTHWESTERN PALO-ALTO
 
AT 345 PM...SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH A
THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHEAST CLAY COUNTY...ABOUT 5 TO 10 MILES EAST OF
SPENCER.
 
THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR..AND WILL BE
AFFECTING LANGDON AND GRAETTINGER.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST REvSORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
 
TRUETT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 11:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClay39 min
Aug 24, 5:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJones40 min
Aug 24, 5:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska40 min
Aug 24, 6:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis42 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.