Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 9, 1996Decatur County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 1996, 5:55 AM CDT for Decatur County, Iowa. It was in force for 30 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 9, 1996, 5:55 AM CDT (10:55 UTC)
Expired
May 9, 1996, 6:25 AM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Decatur County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:55 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 10.9 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1996-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1091 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1996-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 94 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
1091 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
84 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 091056
SVRDSM
IAC053-091125-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
555 AM CDT THU MAY 9 1996

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN DECATUR COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 625 AM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    OPEN FARMLAND 

* AT 552 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES NORTH
OF LAMONI OR 55 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE ~STORM WILL BE NEAR MILE MARKER 22 BY 615 AM.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THIS STORM...TAKE COVER...EXPECT HAIL UP TO ONE INCH
IN  DIAMETER FROM THIS STORM. 

MYERS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 9:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams30 min
May 8, 10:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Union31 min
May 8, 10:49 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXUnion31 min
May 8, 11:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas29 min
May 8, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPolk, Warren35 min
May 9, 12:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis34 min
May 9, 12:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Lucas32 min
May 9, 6:17 AM CDTTornado WarningDMXDecatur33 min
May 9, 6:35 AM CDTTornado WarningDMXWayne30 min
May 9, 10:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur32 min
May 9, 10:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWayne30 min
May 9, 11:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose34 min
May 9, 11:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDavis34 min
May 9, 12:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWayne31 min
May 9, 1:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMonroe30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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.