Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Des Moines, IA

March 13, 1990Polk County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1990, 8:12 PM CST for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 25 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 1990, 8:12 PM CST (02:12 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1990, 8:37 PM CST
In force
25 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, 2.2 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 1990-03-14Temperature 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 1990-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3595 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
98 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 140212
TORDSM
IAC153-140245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
812 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN CENTRAL IOWA
          ...NORTHERN POLK
 
AT 807 PM...A TORNADO WAS SIGHTED AT ANKENY...LOCATED ABOUT 10 MILES
NORTH OF DES MOINES.
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN
NORTHERN POLK COUNTY AT 808 PM.
 
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT ANKENY...ELKHART...AND FARRAR.
 
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.
 
DOWD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 6:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBoone, Dallas, Polk46 min
Mar 13, 7:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton35 min
Mar 13, 7:48 PM CSTTornado WarningDMXHamilton52 min
Mar 13, 8:30 PM CSTTornado WarningDMXStory35 min
Mar 13, 9:04 PM CSTTornado WarningDMXHardin26 min
Mar 13, 11:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCrawford28 min
Mar 13, 11:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBuena Vista, Clay31 min
Mar 14, 12:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCass, Greene, Guthrie25 min
Mar 14, 12:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGreene35 min
Mar 14, 12:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCass35 min
Mar 14, 12:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGuthrie40 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.