Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 48, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 29, 1990Davis County, Van Buren County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 29, 1990, 1:42 AM CDT for Davis County, Van Buren County, Iowa. It was in force for 48 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 29, 1990, 1:42 AM CDT (06:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 29, 1990, 2:30 AM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Davis County, IA, Van Buren 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 00:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 354 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 00:00Z on 1990-08-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3134 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, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1990-08-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 138 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
3134 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-79 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2146 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
301 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
7.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 290643
TORDSM
IAC051-177-290730-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
142 AM CDT WED AUG 29 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTHEAST IOWA
          ...NORTHEASTERN HAL OF DAVIS...SOUTHWESTERN HALF OF VAN-BUREN 
AT 140 AM...DES MOINES RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADIC
THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF OTTUMWA.
 
THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT THE
COMMUNITIES OF FLORIS...TROY...PULASKI...SELMA...DOUDS...LEANDO...
KEOSAUQUA...MILTON...CANTRIL...FARMINGTON AND MOUNT STERLING.
 
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.
 
MYERS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 29, 12:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska26 min
Aug 29, 12:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska, Marion40 min
Aug 29, 12:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWapello51 min
Aug 29, 12:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJefferson52 min
Aug 29, 12:57 AM CDTTornado WarningDMXMahaska, Wapello48 min
Aug 29, 1:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXVan Buren49 min
Aug 29, 1:18 AM CDTTornado WarningDMXWapello42 min
Aug 29, 1:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHardin23 min
Aug 29, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska, Wapello45 min
Aug 29, 5:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarion47 min
Aug 29, 5:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Guthrie50 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.