Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1992
Tornado Warning 12, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Jun 23, 1992, 5:40 PM CDT for Hamilton County, Hardin County, Iowa. It was in force for 20 min. 3 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
- Jun 23, 1992, 5:40 PM CDT (22:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 23, 1992, 6:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 20 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 5:41 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Hamilton, IA | |
| Jun 23, 5:50 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Hardin, IA | |
| Jun 23, 5:58 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Hardin, IA |
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
Omaha, NE (KOVN), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 267 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
- 2221 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 74 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 KDSM 232241 TORDSM IAC079-083-232300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 540 PM CDT TUE JUN 23 1992 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN CENTRAL IOWA ...SOUTHEASTERN HAMILTON COUNTY...SOUTHWESTERN HARDIN COUNTY AT 535 AM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 48 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF DES MOINES...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTH OF ELLSWORTH. SEVERE STORM SPOTTERS IN THE AREA REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS IN THIS AREA AS WELL. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO THE GARDEN CITY AREA BY 600 PM. 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. MILLER/SULLIVAN
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, Jun 23, 3:41 PM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 331 PM CDT TUE JUN 23 1992 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH VALID UNTIL 9 PM FOR PARTS OF EASTERN IOWA... AT 325 PM...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL WAS LOCATED 5 MILES WEST OF DECORAH. ALSO...AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST NORTH OF THE IOWA/ MISSOURI BORDER 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BLOOMFIELD. AN ISOLATED RAIN SHOWER WAS LOCATED 25 MILES WEST OF MASON CITY OR 5 MILES NORTH OF CORWITH. FINALLY...SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS CONTINUED ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHCENTRAL IOWA. MOVEMENT OF ALL ACTIVITY WAS SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. R A PRENTICE
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 4:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND IOWA WEATHER UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 415 PM CDT TUE JUN 23 1992 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH VALID UNTIL 9 PM FOR PARTS OF EASTERN IOWA... AT 410 PM...ISOLATED STRONG AND INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA...35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MASON CITY AND 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF WATERLOO NEAR WEST UNION. AT 3 59 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED FROM THE STORM NEAR WEST UNION IN NORTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY. THE OUTLOOK OVER THE NEXT ONE TO TWO HOURS IS FOR ISOLATED VERY STRONG AND INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA...MOVING INTO CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL IOWA. REMEMBER...INTENSE THUNNDERSTORMS CAN AND OFTEN DO SPAWN TORNADOS. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER REPORTS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY...PREFERABLY A BASEMENT. MILLER
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 4:48 PM CDT, 52 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 448 PM CDT TUE JUN 23 1992 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH VALID UNTIL 9 PM FOR PARTS OF EASTERN IOWA... AT 435 PM...ISOLATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA. THESE STORMS WERE LOCATED 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MASON CITY NEAR CLARION AND 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF WATERLOO...BETWEEN FAYETTE AND STRAWBERRY POINT. THESE STORMS MAY CONTAIN SOME HAIL...DAMAGING WIND...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS ARE URGED TO MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SEEK A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THESE STORMS APPROACH. ALSO...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS WERE OCCURRING OVER SOUTHEAST IOWA IN A 10 MILE WIDE LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST OF DES MOINES TO NEAR BURLINGTON. THESE STORMS AND SHOWERS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. MILLER
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 5:18 PM CDT, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND IOWA WEATHER UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 515 PM CDT TUE JUN 23 1992 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH VALID UNTIL 9 PM FOR PARTS OF EASTERN IOWA... AT 510 PM...ISOLATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA. THESE STORMS WERE LOCATED 55 MILES NORTH OF DES MOINES...OR JUST SOUTHEAST OF WILLIAMS...AND 35 MILES NORTH OF CEDAR RAPIDS...BETWEEN MANCHESTER AND STRAWBERRY POINT. THESE STORMS MAY CONTAIN SOME HAIL...DAMAGING WIND...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER REPORTS AND PREPARE TO GO TO A SAFE RETREAT. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THE OUTLOOK OVER THE NEXT ONE TO TWO HOURS IS FOR ISOLATED STORMS TO MOVE INTO CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST OF DES MOINES AND NORTHEAST AND EAST OF CEDAR RAPIDS. / MILLER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Howard, Winneshiek | 54 min |
| Jun 23, 3:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Fayette | 59 min |
| Jun 23, 4:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Fayette | 58 min |
| Jun 23, 4:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Fayette | 31 min |
| Jun 23, 4:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Buchanan | 35 min |
| Jun 23, 5:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Hardin | 28 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992
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.