Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Quad Cities, IA

March 13, 1990Cedar County, Muscatine County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1990, 5:39 PM CST for Cedar County, Muscatine County, Iowa. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 1990, 5:39 PM CST (23:39 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1990, 6:15 PM CST
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cedar County, IA, Muscatine 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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 401 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
45 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 132339
TORMLI
IAC031-139-140015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
539 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 615 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE EXTREME EAST PART OF IOWA
      SOUTHERN CEDAR...NORTHWEST MUSCATINE

AT 535 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 50 MILES WEST OF
MOLINE...JUST WEST OF WEST LIBERTY.
THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LIKELY ALSO PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL.

SOME CITIES/TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... WEST LIBERTY
...DOWNY AND CENTERDALE.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITBCH OR CULVERT.

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

PHILLIPS

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Mar 13, 2:04 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes before
IAZ008-ILZ001-132100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
200 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN AND AROUND DUBUQUE AND THE TRI-STATE
AREA...

AT 155 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN AND AROUND
THE TRI-STATE AREA.

THE STRONGEST OF THE STORMS WERE LOCATED IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF
JONES COUNTY...40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DUBUQUE AND 40 MILES WEST OF
DUBUQUE JUST ABOUT TO ENTER SOUTHWEST DELAWARE COUNTY.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND MARBLE SIZE
HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS.

IN THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
KOWALSKI
Local storm report, Mar 13, 3:29 PM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
325 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

REPORTS RELAYED TO OUR OFFICE BY SHERIFFS DEPT...AND CIVIL DEFENSE

TIME UNKN...JO-DAVIES COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ILLINIOS...NEAR STOCKTON
            35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DUBUQUE.

1346 CST....JONES COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA...LIGHTNING NEAR OXFORD
            JUNCTION...DAMAGE TO ROOF.

KOWALSKI
Special weather statement, Mar 13, 3:36 PM CST, 2 hours 3 minutes before
ILZ004-132115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
335 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHWEST ILLINOIS
   UNTIL 8 PM CST...

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPED RAPIDLY OVER NORTHWEST ILLINOIS SINCE
315 PM NEAR ALEDO IN CENTRAL MERCER COUNTY...20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
MOLINE.

THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL
BE MOVING INTO LOWER ROCK ISLAND COUNTY NEAR REYNOLDS BY 345 PM CST
AND INTO THE QUAD CITY AREA BY 4PM.

HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

FOBERT
Special weather statement, Mar 13, 3:44 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
IAZ008-ILZ001-WIZ018-132230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
340 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CST...

AT 335 PM CST...RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS AROUND THE
TRI-STATE AREA.

THE STRONGER OF THE STORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR GALENA IN JO-DAVIES
COUNTY ILLINOIS 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DUBUQUE.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA SHOULD TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER
IS SIGHTED.
KOWALSKI
Local storm report, Mar 13, 3:54 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
325 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

REPORTS RELAYED TO OUR OFFICE BY SHERIFFS DEPT...AND CIVIL DEFENSE

TIME UNKN...JO-DAVIE5S COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ILLINIOS...NEAR STOCKTON
            35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DUBUQUE...ONE (1) INCH HAIL.

1346 CST....JONES COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA...LIGHTNING NEAR OXFORD
            JUNCTION...DAMAGE TO ROOF.

KOWALSKI
Special weather statement, Mar 13, 4:33 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
IAZ008-ILZ001-WIZ018-132330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
425 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CST...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...

AT 435 PM CST...RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS AROUND THE
TRI-STATE.

THE STRONGER OF THE STORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR EAST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL
GRANT COUNTY AND EAST CENTRAL...NORTHWEST...AND SOUTH CENTRAL JONES
COUNTY.

THE STORMS WEsRE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA SHOULD TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER
IS SIGHTED.
DEROY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 12:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNCedar31 min
Mar 13, 1:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton20 min
Mar 13, 1:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton32 min
Mar 13, 2:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNJones50 min
Mar 13, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNScott45 min
Mar 13, 4:26 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNScott34 min
Mar 13, 4:59 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNClinton, Scott31 min
Mar 13, 5:01 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDelaware29 min
Mar 13, 5:09 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDubuque, Jones36 min
Mar 13, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDubuque35 min
Mar 13, 5:31 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNClinton29 min
Mar 13, 5:37 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDelaware38 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.