Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 77, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 23, 1996, 4:33 PM CDT for Ringgold County, Iowa. It was in force for 47 min. 2 reports 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
- Jun 23, 1996, 4:33 PM CDT (21:33 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 23, 1996, 5:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Ringgold County, IA
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:33 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 4:35 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Redding, IA | |
| Jun 23, 4:40 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Mt Ayr, 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 190 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
- 70 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -399 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1219 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 141 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 297 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KDSM 232133
SVRDSM
IAC159-232220-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
433 PM CDT SUN JUN 23 1996
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
RINGGOLD COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA
* UNTIL 520 PM CDT
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
MOUNT AYR
KELLERTON
* AT 432 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES WEST
OF MOUNT AYR...OR 70 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES MOVING EAST AT
20 MPH6.
* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR MOUNT AYR BY 440 PM...AND KELLERTON BY 450
PM.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. DO NOT GO OUTDOORS.
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN
PRODUCE TORNADOES.
SMALLWhat 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, Jun 23, 11:49 AM CDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-232130- CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1145 AM CDT SUN JUN 23 1996 HAZARD...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW OF WHICH COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO OCCUR BUT THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE...BUT LARGE HAIL MEETING SEVERE CRITERIA IS NOT EXPECTED. SOME STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN. AREA OF CONCERN...ALL OF CENTRAL IOWA TIMING DETAILS...LATER THIS AFTERNOON SOMETIME AFTER 3PM AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS...A WARM FRONT WAS POSITIONED ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHERN IOWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WAS GRADUALLY MOVING NORTHWARD. MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WAS MAXIMIZED NEAR THE BOUNDARY WITH THE AIRMASS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE. LIFTED INDICES WERE AS LOW AS MINUS 6 TOWARD THE MISSOURI BORDER AND MAY BE DOWN TO MINUS 9 BY LATER THIS AFTERNOON. A LAYER OF WARM AIR ALOFT WAS PROHIBITING THE WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY ACROSS IOWA FROM BECOMING SEVERE...BUT LATER TODAY THE STORMS MAY BREAK THROUGH THAT LAYER AS SUNSHINE WARMS THE LOWER LEVELS. BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON THE WARM LAYER...OR CAP...MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO KEEP STORMS FROM BECOMING SEVERE AS THE FRONT LIFTS SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTH INTO CENTRAL IOWA. AT THIS TIME THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT APPEARS TO BE DAMAGING WINDS. DIRECTIONAL WIND SHEAR IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE ATMOSHPERE IS ALSO SUFFICIENT FOR ISOLATED TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT JUST NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT. THE MID LEVELS OF THE AIRMASS CURRENTLY OVER IOWA ARE QUITE WARM AND MOIST SO LARGE HAIL IS NOT A SIGNIFICANT THREAT. ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE BRIEF DOWNPOURS...THE STORMS SHOULD BE MOVING FAST ENOUGH SO FLASH FLOODING LIKELY WILL NOT OCCUR EITHER. PRECAUTIONS...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER IN THE AFTERNOON.( EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NOT A THREAT OF WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING...ANY BRIEF HEAVY RAINS COULD CAUSE SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING. SMALL
Special weather statement, Jun 23, 12:42 PM CDT, 3 hours 51 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-232130- CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...AMENDMENT TO TIMING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1239 PM CDT SUN JUN 23 1996 HAZARD...WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW OF WHICH COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO OCCUR BUT THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE...BUT LARGE HAIL MEETING SEVERE CRITERIA IS NOT EXPECTED. SOME STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN. AREA OF CONCERN...ALL OF CENTRAL IOWA TIMING DETAILS...THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS...A WARM FRONT WAS POSITIONED ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHERN IOWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WAS GRADUALLY MOVING NORTHWARD. MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WAS MAXIMIZED NEAR THE BOUNDARY WITH THE AIRMASS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE. LIFTED INDICES WERE AS LOW AS MINUS 6 TOWARD THE MISSOURI BORDER AND MAY BE DOWN TO MINUS 9 BY LATER THIS AFTERNOON. A LAYER OF WARM AIR ALOFT WAS PROHIBITING THE WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY ACROSS IOWA FROM BECOMING SEVERE...BUT LATER TODAY THE STORMS MAY BREAK THROUGH THAT LAYER AS SUNSHINE WARMS THE LOWER LEVELS. BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON THE WARM LAYER...OR CAP...MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO KEEP STORMS FROM BECOMING SEVERE AS THE FRONT LIFTS SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTH INTO CENTRAL IOWA. AT THIS TIME THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT APPEARS TO BE DAMAGING WINDS. DIRECTIONAL WIND SHEAR IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE IS ALSO SUFFICIENT FOR ISOLATED TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT JUST NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT. THE MID LEVELS OF THE AIRMASS CURRENTLY OVER IOWA ARE QUITE WARM AND MOIST SO LARGE HAIL IS NOT A SIGNIFICANT THREAT. ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE BRIEF DOWNPOURS...THE STORMS SHOULD BE MOVING FAST ENOUGH SO FLASH FLOODING LIKELY WILL NOT OCCUR EITHER. PRECAUTIONS...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AS A SEVERE WEATHER WATCH IS CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED. EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NOT A THREAT OF WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING...ANY BRIEF HEAVY RAINS COULD CAUSE SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING. SMALL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Decatur | 33 min |
| Jun 23, 3:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Taylor | 34 min |
| Jun 23, 4:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Decatur | 31 min |
| Jun 23, 4:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Guthrie | 36 min |
| Jun 23, 5:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Adams | 32 min |
| Jun 23, 5:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Union | 35 min |
| Jun 23, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Taylor | 33 min |
| Jun 23, 6:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Boone | 29 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.