Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

May 16, 1992Woodbury County, Iowa

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1992, 7:13 PM CDT for Woodbury County, Iowa. It was in force for 47 min. 1 report 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
May 16, 1992, 7:13 PM CDT (00:13 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1992, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Woodbury County, IA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 7:55 PM CDTHail 1Woodbury, 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 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 122 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1992-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 544 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1992-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 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
544 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1809 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KSUX 170017
TORSUX
IAC193-170100-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX CITY IA
713 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL IOWA
 
   ...WOODBURY COUNTY
 
AT 720 PM A TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND NEAR JACKSON NEBRASKA OR 10
MILES EAST OF SIOUX CITY. THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING E3AST AT 30 MILES AN
HOUR TOWARD THE TOWN OF SIOUX CITY AND SERGEANT BLUFF IOWA.
TAKE COVER NOW...
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU ARE IN A
STRONG BUILDING GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID
WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR
GET INTO A DITCH OR DEPRESSION...COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDPlymouth37 min
May 16, 8:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDMonona49 min
May 16, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCherokee53 min
May 16, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDIda47 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.