Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Quad Cities, IA

April 30, 1997Clinton County, Jackson County, Jones County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 30, 1997, 2:26 PM CDT for Clinton County, Jackson County, Jones County, Iowa. It was in force for 49 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: Apr 30, 1997, 2:26 PM CDT (19:26 UTC)
Expired: Apr 30, 1997, 3:15 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Clinton County, IA, Jackson County, IA, Jones County, IA

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:28 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
Apr 30, 2:40 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Countywide, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 30, 12:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 53 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1366 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 180 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.

746 
WUUS1 KMLI 301938
SVRMLI
IAC045-097-105-302015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...CORRECTED LOCATION...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
226 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  CLINTON COUNTY - EAST CENTRAL IOWA
  JACKSON COUNTY - EAST CENTRAL IOWA
  EASTERN JONES COUNTY - EAST CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 315 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED

  LOST NATION
  WYOMING
  MAQOEKETA
  FULTON
* AT 225 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 29 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF THE QUAD CITIES MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR MAQUOKETA BY 240 PM CDT.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM, WITH LARGE HAIL.  DO NOT GO OUTDOORS.

 A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN
PRODUCE TORNADOES.


MEYER

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.

NWS Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 30, 2:04 PM CDT, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 2:04 PM CDT, 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
200 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

FRONT LEFT QUAD OF JET MOVES FROM NE MISSOURI INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY
LATE AFTERNOON.  FOCUS FOR STRONGEST TSTMS SHOULD CLIP SE PORTION OF
CWA REMAINDER OF AFTN...MAINLY IN ILLINOIS.  TSTMS SHOULD BE OVER IN IOWA
BEFORE 00Z...ALTHO LIGHT RAIN WILL LINGER TO NEAR 06Z...MAINLY NORTHERN
HALF.  TSTMS WILL MOVE EAST OF ILLINOIS PORTION OF CWA BY 03Z...WITH
LIGHT RAIN LINGERING TIL 09Z NORTHERN PORTION.

NORTHWEST WINDS THIS EVE WILL BE STRONG...FLIRTING WITH WIND ADVISORY
THRESHOLD.  AS LOW MOVES RAPIDLY NORTHEAST DURING NIGHT...GRADIENT
SLACKENS BY 06Z IN IOWA AND 09Z IN ILLINOIS.  UPPER WINDS ARE NOT LINED
UP WITH LOW LEVEL...SO WINDS MAY BE GUSTY HIGH BUT SUSTAINED HIGH WINDS
WILL BE HARDER TO MAINTAIN.

MEAN RH DECREASES RAPIDLY BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z ACROSS CWA...AND CYCLONIC
CURVATURE DISAPPEARS BY 12Z...SO SKIES SHOULD CLEAR BETWEEN 09Z AND 12Z.

CID 36/60   DBQ 36/80   MLI 39/70   BRL 40/50

ARKELL

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:11 PM CDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
211 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 PM    TIPTON                    IA   1.00 INCH HAIL
           CEDAR

0203 PM    5 W COLMAR                IL   TORNADO
           HANCOCK

HENDRICKS

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:14 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
214 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0219 PM    2 SW BLANDINSVILLE        IL   TORNADO
           MCDONOUGH                      TORNADO WITH DEBRIS SEEN
                                          ON THE GROUND

TEH

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:16 PM CDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
211 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0200 PM    TIPTON                    IA   1.00 INCH HAIL
           CEDAR

0203 PM    5 W COLMAR                IL   TORNADO
           HANCOCK

HENDRICKS

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:20 PM CDT, 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
214 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0219 PM    2 SW BLANDINSVILLE        IL   TORNADO
           MCDONOUGH                      TORNADO WITH DEBRIS SEEN
                                          ON THE GROUND

TEH

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:21 PM CDT, 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
221 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0212 PM    CLARENCE                  IA   1.00 INCH HAIL
           CEDAR

HENDRICKS

Local storm report, Apr 30, 2:24 PM CDT, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
221 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
DATE(CDT)  ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0212 PM    CLARENCE                  IA   1.00 INCH HAIL
           CEDAR

HENDRICKS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 30, 1:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Cedar	34 min
Apr 30, 3:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Cedar, Clinton	34 min
Apr 30, 3:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Scott	50 min
Apr 30, 3:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Muscatine	47 min
Apr 30, 3:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Clinton	50 min
Apr 30, 4:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Jackson	47 min
Apr 30, 4:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Clinton	34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1997 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.