Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Quad Cities, IA

May 14, 1991Cedar County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at May 14, 1991, 2:45 PM CDT for Cedar County, Iowa. It was in force for 30 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 14, 1991, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 1991, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Cedar County, IA

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 389 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 1991-05-14Temperature 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1991-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 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
2865 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
18 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 141945
TORMLI
IAC031-142015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
245 PM CDT TUE MAY 14 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE EXTREME EAST PART OF IOWA
      NORTH AND CENTRAL CEDAR

AT 2 40 PM CDT NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUD AND TORNADO SIGHTENINGS WERE
REPORTED 5 MILES NORTH OF TIPTON IOWA OR 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF
DAVENPORT IOWA.  MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 5 MPH.

SOME CITIES/TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... CLARENCE AND
 LOWDEN.

REPORTS OF TORNADOS OR TORNADO DAMAGE SHOULD BE GIVEN TO A LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...TAKE SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

MEYER

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, 3 hours 11 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, 1 hour 52 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 PRODUCING 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, 1 hour 11 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
Special weather statement, May 14, 2:15 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
ILZ004-IAZ015-142000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
2 10 PM CDT   TUE MAY 14 1991

AT 2 05 PM A POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED OVER MOUNT VERNON IOWA
ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CEDAR RAPIDS.  THIS POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD
WAS MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF CEDAR COUNTY IOWA.  IF YOU
LIVE IN NORTHWEST OR NORTH CENTRAL CEDAR COUNTY BE PREPARED TO SEEK
SHELTER IF NECCESARY.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ACROSS NORTH CEDAR EXTENDING
INTO NORTH SCOTT AND CENTRAL CLINTON COUNTIES.

HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.  PERSONS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A
PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENINwG WEATHER APPROACHES.

MEYER/DICKEY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 6:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClayton34 min
May 14, 1:38 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNDelaware37 min
May 14, 2:01 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNDubuque29 min
May 14, 3:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNMuscatine67 min
May 14, 3:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNScott68 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.