Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 40, NWS Quad Cities, IA

October 17, 1990Des Moines County, Louisa County, Iowa; Mercer County, Rock Island County, Illinois

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 17, 1990, 4:34 PM CDT for Des Moines County, Louisa County, Iowa; Mercer County, Rock Island County, Illinois. It was in force for 56 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: Oct 17, 1990, 4:34 PM CDT (21:34 UTC)
Expired: Oct 17, 1990, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Des Moines County, IA, Louisa County, IA, Mercer County, IL, Rock Island County, IL

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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Oct 17, 5:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Mercer, IL
Oct 17, 5:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Rock Island, IL

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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 431 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 272 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -184 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 718 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 0 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 KMLI 172134
SVRMLI
IAC163-045-115-057-ILC161-131-172230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
434 PM CDT WED OCT 17 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE EXTREME EAST PART OF IOWA
      SCOTT...CLINTON...LOUISA...

   IN THE SOUTHEAST PART OF IOWA
      DES-MOINES...

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF ILLINOIS
      ROCK-ISLAND...MERCER...

AT 420 PM CDT A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 30
MILES WEST OF CLINTON IOWA TO 20 MILES WEST OF THE QUAD CITIES TO
5 MILES WEST OF BURLINGTON IOWA...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

WINDS UP TO 60 MILES AN HOUR WERE REPORTED IN THE MUSCATINE AREA
OF EAST CENTRAL IOWA CAUSING SOME DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER LINES.

SOME CITIES/TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... CLINTON...
QUAD CITIES...BURLINGTON

FOR YOUR PROTECTION GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.  STAY INDOORS
AND AVOID WINDOWS.  IF OUTDOORS...DO NOT STAND UNDER A TREE OR IN
OPEN AREAS SUCH AS A FIELD.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING...SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT AND BE
PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF ONE IS SPOTTED.

IF TIME PERMITS...ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY
YOUR REPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

ATTN ISP 7 AND 1

FOBERT

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 17, 3:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before

IAZ008-WIZ018-ILZ001-172100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND UPDATE FOR DUBUQUE AND VICINITY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
305 PM CDT WED OCT 17 1990

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT...

AT 300 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
45 MILES WEST OF DUBUQUE AND EXTENDED SOUTH TO CEDAR RAPIDS AND
OTTUMWA.

THESE STRONG STORMS WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PART OF
DELAWARE COUNTY BETWEEN 310 AND 340 PM...AND THROUGH JONES COUNTY
FROM 320 TO 400 PM.

FREQUENT LIGHTNING...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WIND AND SOME
HAIL WILL OCCUR AS THESE STORMS PASS THROUGH THE WESTERN PART OF THE
TRI-STATE AREA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT AND
DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES IS POSSIBLE AROUND THE TRI-STATE AREA.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY
AND IF TIME PERMITS...CALL YOUR REPORT TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL MWEATHER SERVICE.
KOWALSKI

Special weather statement, Oct 17, 3:46 PM CDT, 48 minutes before

IAZ008-WIZ018-ILZ001-172200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND UPDATE FOR DUBUQUE AND VICINITY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
345 PM CDT WED OCT 17 1990

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT...

AT 350 PM CDT...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST
ACROSS THE TRI-STATE AREA AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THE LEADING EDGE OF THE STORMS WAS LOCATED NEAR CLAYTON IN CLAYTON
COUNTY...40 MILES NORTHWEST OF DUBUQUE AND EXTENDED SOUTH TO
JUST EAST OF CEDAR RAPIDS.

THE STRONGER STORMS IN THIS LINE WERE LOCATED IN THE WESTERN PART
OF JONES COUNTY...NEAR MONTICELLO AND ANAMOSA...30 TO 40 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF DUBUQUE.

THE STORMS IN CLAYTON COUNTY WILL BE MOVING INTO THE WESTERN PART OF
GRANT COUNTY BETWEEN 350 AND 400 PM.

FREQUENT LIGHTNING...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WIND AND SOME
HAIL WILL OCCUR AS THESE STORMS PASS THROUGH JONES COUNTY.

THE CITY OF DUBUQUE SHOULD SEE SOME STORMS ENTERING THE AREA BETWEEN
BETWEEN 430 AND 500 PM.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT AND
DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES IS POSSIBLE AROUND THE TRI-STATE AREA.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY
AND IF TIME PERMITS...CALL YOUR REPORT TO TqHE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
KOWALSKI

Special weather statement, Oct 17, 3:54 PM CDT, 40 minutes before

ILZ004-IAZ015-172145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
350 PM CDT WED OCT 17 1990

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT...

INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE APPROACHING THE BISTATE AREA THIS AFTERNOON.

AT 330 PM A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 25 MILES NORTH OF CEDAR
RAPIDS IOWA TO 25 MILES WEST OF MUSCATINE IOWA TO 30 MILES WEST OF
KEOKUK IOWA.  THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN
HOUR AND SHOULD REACH MUSCATINE AND BURLINGTON AROUND 430 PM AND 500 PM.
THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD THEN REACH THE QUAD CITIES BY 530 PM.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS...RIGHT NOW...DO NOT APPEAR SEVERE IN NATURE...BUT...
IF YOU LIVE IN THE PATH OF THESE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS...BE ON THE
LOOKOUT FOR DEADLY LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN...SOME HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER.
MEYER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 17, 4:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Clinton, Scott	56 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1990 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1990 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.