Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1995

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 31, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 13, 1995Butler County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 13, 1995, 5:23 PM CDT for Butler County, Iowa. It was in force for 17 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 13, 1995, 5:23 PM CDT (22:23 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 1995, 5:40 PM CDT
In force: 17 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Whole counties

County Butler County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 135 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:25 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 226 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 346 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 430 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 KDSM 132222
SVRDSM
IAC023-132255-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
523 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN BUTLER COUNTY - NORTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 555 PM CDT
 
* SOME TOWNS AFFECTED
    AREDALE
    GREENE

* AT 520 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 25 MILES SOUTH OF
  MASON CITY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE AREDALE BYP 525 PM AND GREENE BY 545 PM.

  THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL. TAKE COVER.
  A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE
  TORNADOES.

PYTLAK

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 13, 2:19 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before

IAZ017-131955-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
220 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR WESTERN CERRO GORDO COUNTY UNTIL 240
PM CDT...

AT 218 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THAT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL WILL MOVE TO NEAR CLEAR LAKE BY 225 PM CDT.
BOATERS SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY AS THIS STORM ALSO CONTAINS
DEADLY LIGHTNING AND STRONG WINDS.

 BELLES

Local storm report, May 13, 2:25 PM CDT, 2 hours 58 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
224 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

TIME(CDT)   .....CITY LOCATION.....  STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
            ....COUNTY LOCATION....
155 PM     8 NE GOLDFIELD            IA     2 INCH DIAMETER HAIL
           NORTHERN WRIGHT CO

158 PM     7 N OF GOLDFIELD          IA     1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL
           NORTHERN WRIGHT CO

207 PM     NEAR KLEMME               IA     1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL
           SOUTHERN HANCOCK CO

212 PM     NEAR KLEMME               IA     GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL
           SOUTHERN HANCOCK CO

PYTLAK
&

Local storm report, May 13, 2:33 PM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
231 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

TIME(CDT)   .....CITY LOCATION.....  STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
            ....COUNTY LOCATION....
226 PM     3 S OF VENTURA            IA     1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL
           WESTERN CERRO GORDO CO

PYTLAK
&

Local storm report, May 13, 3:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
300 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

TIME(CDT)   .....CITY LOCATION.....  STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
            ....COUNTY LOCATION....
240 PM     JUST S|W OF MASON CITY     IA     FUNNEL CLOUD
           CENTRAL CERRO GORDO CO

257 PM     ALEXANDER                 IA     1 INCH DIAMETER HAIL
           NORTHWEST FRANKLIN CO

PYTLAK
&

Special weather statement, May 13, 4:08 PM CDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before

IAZ047-060-073-084-095-132215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
407 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR BOONE...POLK...WARREN...LUCAS
AND WAYNE COUNTIES. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS ENDED FOR THESE
AREAS.

TORNADO WATCHES NUMBERS 368 AND 369 REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF
NORTHWEST AND THE EASTERN HALF OF IOWA UNTIL 900 PM CDT. THE WATCH IS
NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM DENISON...TO VWEBSTER CITY...TO AMES...TO
CENTERVILLE.

PYTLAK

Special weather statement, May 13, 5:10 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

IAZ026-132245-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR IOWA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
511 PM CDT SAT MAY 13 1995

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FRANKLIN
COUNTY UNTIL 530 PM CDT...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS NEARING HAMPTON...OR 30 MILES SOUTH OF MASON
CITY.  THIS STORM PRODUCED GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL IN EXTREME WESTERN
HAMILTON COUNTY AT 501 PM.  THE STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH HAMPTON AND
INTO HANSELL BY 520 PM.

MOVE INDOOR:S IMMEDIATELY. GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL REMAINS LIKELY.

PYTLAK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 13, 4:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Davis	33 min
May 13, 1:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Hancock, Wright	32 min
May 13, 2:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Cerro Gordo	29 min
May 13, 2:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Cerro Gordo	30 min
May 13, 3:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Floyd	44 min
May 13, 4:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Franklin	33 min
May 13, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Franklin	36 min
May 13, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Wright	8 min
May 13, 5:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Floyd	32 min
May 13, 5:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Chickasaw	31 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1995 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.