Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1994

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Des Moines, IA

April 14, 1994Polk County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 14, 1994, 9:55 PM CDT for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 35 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 14, 1994, 9:55 PM CDT (02:55 UTC)
Expired
Apr 14, 1994, 10:30 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, IA

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 236 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 1994-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 715 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 1994-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 60 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
715 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 150256
SVRDSM
IAC153-150330-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
955 PM CDT THU APR 14 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL IOWA
 
   ...POLK COUNTY
 
AT 955 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES
MOVING INTO POLK COUNTY.  IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS STORM WILL
PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE METRO DES MOINES
AREA BETWEEN 955 AND 1030 PM.  HAIL COULD BE AS LARGE AS
GOLF BALL SIZE.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO
ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITONS.
 
FELDT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 8:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTaylor31 min
Apr 14, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCass41 min
Apr 14, 9:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Cass41 min
Apr 14, 9:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXJasper, Marshall36 min
Apr 14, 9:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGrundy35 min
Apr 14, 9:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison, Union31 min
Apr 14, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Guthrie43 min
Apr 14, 10:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBlack Hawk52 min
Apr 14, 10:08 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXAdair37 min
Apr 14, 10:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBuchanan51 min
Apr 14, 10:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Polk34 min
Apr 14, 10:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTama48 min
Apr 14, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXStory35 min
Apr 14, 11:03 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXStory27 min
Apr 14, 11:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBlack Hawk26 min
Apr 14, 11:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarshall19 min
Apr 14, 11:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGrundy25 min
Apr 14, 11:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXVan Buren28 min
Apr 15, 12:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXLinn36 min
Apr 15, 12:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBlack Hawk21 min
Apr 15, 12:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBuchanan29 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1994Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1994

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.