Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1991
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Quad Cities, IA
NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at May 14, 1991, 1:38 PM CDT for Delaware County, Iowa. It was in force for 37 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 14, 1991, 1:38 PM CDT (18:38 UTC)
- Expired
- May 14, 1991, 2:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Quad Cities, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Delaware County, IA
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 320 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3158 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 111 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDBQ 141838 RRA TORDBQ IAC055-141915- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA 138 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 1991 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DUBUQUE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 215 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEAST IOWA ...DELAWARE COUNTY AT 130 PM CDT TWO TORNADOES WERE REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR THE CITIES OF RYAN AND MANCHESTER IN DELAWARE COUNTY OR 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE. THE TORNADOES WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. SOME CITIES IN THE PATH OF THESE TORNADOES ARE...RYAN...DELHI...MANCHESTER...AND ONEIDA. THESE CITIES WILL BE AFFECTED BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 140 AND 215 PM CDT. 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..C.PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE TORNADOES SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. DEROY NNNN
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, May 14, 11:34 AM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
ILZ004-IAZ015-141730- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL 11 30 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 1991 ...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP ACROSS BISTATE AREA NORTH OF QUAD CITIES... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING ACROSS THE BISTATE AREA THIS MORNING. THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS HAVE BECOME MORE ORGANIZED ACROSS EAST CENTRAL IOWA INTO NORTHWEST ILLINOIS SINCE 11 AM STRETCHING EAST/WEST JUST NORTH OF THE QUAD CITIES. THEIR MOVEMENT HAS BEEN A DRIFT TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND 10 MPH. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL, STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. FURTHER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. DICKEY
Special weather statement, May 14, 12:53 PM CDT, 45 minutes before
ILZ004-IAZ015-141830- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL 12 40 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 1991 ...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WESTERN CLINTON COUNTY IOWA... THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHED ACROSS EAST IOWA INTO NORTHWEST ILLINOIS MORTH OF THE QUAD CITIES HAVE INCREASED IN INTENSITY IN THE EAST CENTRAL IOWA SECTION. AT 12 45 PM A THUNDERSTORM OVER WESTERN CLINTON COUNTY /20 MILES WEST OF CLINTON/ HAS BECOME VERY STRONG AND MAY BE PRODU CING HEAVY RAINFALL AND HAIL. THIS STORM IS DRIFTING SLOWLY TO THE NORTH AT AROUND 5 MPH. PERSONS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. DICKEY
Special weather statement, May 14, 1:34 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
ILZ004-IAZ015-141915- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL 1 30 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 1991 ...THUNDERSTORM WESTERN CLINTON COUNTY IOWA DECREASES... THE VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN WESTERN CLINTON COUNTY HAS DECREASED IN INTENSITY SINCE 12 45 PM. THIS STORM CONTINUES TO DRIFT SLOWLY TO THE NORTH AT AROUND 5 MPH. MEANWHILE FARTHER TO THE NORTHWEST IN LINN AND PARTS OF JONES COUNTIES, SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL WERE OCCURRING. CONDITIONS STILL REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOP ACROSS THE BISTATE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. PERSONS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHEBR APPROACHES. DICKEY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 6:26 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clayton | 34 min |
| May 14, 2:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Dubuque | 29 min |
| May 14, 2:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Cedar | 30 min |
| May 14, 3:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Muscatine | 67 min |
| May 14, 3:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Scott | 68 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991
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.