Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 43, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 13, 1995, 9:29 PM CDT for Emmet County, Iowa. It was in force for 16 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
- Aug 13, 1995, 9:29 PM CDT (02:29 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 13, 1995, 9:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 16 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Emmet County, IA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 9:44 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Swea City, 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
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 185 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
- 1246 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 622 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 146 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 294 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.4
- Supercell composite
- 8.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDSM 140229
TORDSM
IAC063-140245-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
929 PM CDT SUN AUG 13 1995
* TORNADO WARNING FOR
EASTERN EMMET COUNTY - NORTHWEST IOWA
* UNTIL 945 PM CDT
* SOME TOWNS AFFECTED
RINGSTEAD
ARMSTRONG
* AT 927 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 30 NORTHEAST OF SPENCER
MOVING NORTHEAST 10 MPH.
* THE STORM WILL BE RINGSTEAD 930 PM .
IF YOU ARE NEAR THIS DANGEROUS STORM.. .TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN THE
LOWEST FLOOR AND INNER MOST ROOM OF A BUILDING.
FORSTERWhat 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, Aug 13, 3:42 PM CDT, 5 hours 47 minutes before
IAZALL-140200- IOWA SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 342 PM CDT SUN AUG 13 1995 HAZARD...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. AREA OF CONCERN...THE NORTHWEST TWO-THIRDS OF IOWA...MAINLY NORTHWEST OF A DUBUQUE TO SHENANDOAH LINE. TIMING DETAILS...THE GREATEST RISK OF DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE FROM AROUND 800 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT IN NORTHWEST IOWA. FURTHER SOUTHEAST... THE RISK WILL EXTEND FROM ABOUT 1000 PM UNTIL 200 AM. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS...A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT ENTERING IOWA TONIGHT WILL BE ENOUGH TO BREAK A MID LEVEL TEMPERATURE INVERSION OVER IOWA. WINDS ABOUT 3000 FT UP WILL INCREASE TO 50 MPH BY MIDNIGHT...SO ANY THUNDERSTORM DOWNBURSTS COULD APPROACH SEVERE LEVELS. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL ALSO BE VERY UNSTABLE WITH LIFTED INDEX VALUES BETWEEN -6 AND -10 FOR MUCH OF THE EVENING. ONE LIMITING FACTOR IS THAT THE MOST IMPRESSIVE DYNAMICS WILL REMAIN NORTH...SO ANY SEVERE WIND GUSTS WILL BE ISOLATED OVER IOWA. EVEN THOUGH THE ATMOSPHERE IS EXTREMELY MOIST OVERALL...THE FAST MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WILL HOLD DOWN THE FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL. LARGE HAIL IS NOT A BIG CONCERN TONIGHT BECAUSE TEMPERATURES ALOFT ARE SO WARM AHEAD OF THE FRONT. PRECAUTIONS...DAMAGING WINDS ARE INHERENTLY HARDER FOR SPOTTERS TO TRACK AT NIGHT. ANY DOWNBURSTS WILL ALSO BE SHORT-LIVED. EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD KEEP THIS IN MIND IF SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NEEDED TONIGHT. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES BEFORE SUNSET SHOULD EXPERIENCE NO PROBLEMS...BUT IT WOULD BE WISE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE FAR NORTHWEST. PYTLAK
Special weather statement, Aug 13, 6:25 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before
IAZALL-140300- IOWA SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 630 PM CDT SUN AUG 13 1995 HAZARD...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. AREA OF CONCERN...THE NORTHWEST TWO-THIRDS OF IOWA...MAINLY NORTHWEST OF A DUBUQUE TO SHENANDOAH LINE. TIMING DETAILS...THUNDERSTORMS WERE FORMING OVER EASTERN NEBRASKA AROUND GRAND ISLAND EARLY THIS EVENING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH INTO WESTERN IOWA BETWEEN 8 AND 10 PM. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL RACE ACROSS NEBRASKA THIS EVENING SERVING AS A TRIGGER FOR THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS IS DAMAGING WIND. THE FRONT IS FORCAST TO PUSH ACROSS IOWA DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS REACHING FROM LAMONI TO CLINTON BY MORNING. WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED ALTHOUGH SOME ISOLATED SEVERE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT. PRECAUTIONS...DAMAGING WINDS ARE INHERENTLY HARDER FOR SPOTTERS TO TRACK AT NIGHT. ANY DOWNBURSTS WILL ALSO BE SHORT-LIVED. EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD KEEP THIS IN MIND IF SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NEEDED TONIGHT. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES BEFORE SUNSET SHOULD EXPERIENCE NO PROBLEMS...BUT IT WOULD BE WISE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE FAR NORTHWEST. EP/JEB AUG 95
Special weather statement, Aug 13, 6:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
IAZALL-140300- IOWA SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 630 PM CDT SUN AUG 13 1995 HAZARD...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DOWNBURST WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. AREA OF CONCERN...THE NORTHWEST TWO-THIRDS OF IOWA...MAINLY NORTHWEST OF A DUBUQUE TO SHENANDOAH LINE. TIMING DETAILS...THUNDERSTORMS WERE FORMING OVER EASTERN NEBRASKA AROUND GRAND ISLAND EARLY THIS EVENING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH INTO WESTERN IOWA BETWEEN 8 AND 10 PM. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL RACE ACROSS NEBRASKA THIS EVENING SERVING AS A TRIGGER FOR THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS IS DAMAGING WIND. THE FRONT IS FORCAST TO PUSH ACROSS IOWA DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS REACHING FROM LAMONI TO CLINTON BY MORNING. WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED ALTHOUGH SOME ISOLATED SEVERE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT. PRECAUTIONS...DAMAGING WINDS ARE INHERENTLY HARDER FOR SPOTTERS TO TRACK AT NIGHT. ANY DOWNBURSTS WILL ALSO BE SHORT-LIVED. EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD KEEP THIS IN MIND IF SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NEEDED TONIGHT. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES BEFORE SUNSET SHOULD EXPERIENCE NO PROBLEMS...BUT IT WOULD BE WISE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE FAR NORTHWEST. EP/JEB AUG 95
Special weather statement, Aug 13, 9:24 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
IAZ004-015-140300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 924 PM CDT SUN AUG 13 1995 ...SEVEREE THUNDERSTORMS WARNING FOR PALO ALTO AND EMMET COUNTIES UNTIL 930 PM CDT... A SPOTTER IN EMMETSBURG REPORTED WINDS BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MILES AN HOUR AT 915 PM CDT. THE STORMS WILL HIT RODMAN AND WEST BEND. BELLES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 9:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Kossuth | 23 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.