Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 50, NWS Quad Cities, IA

August 16, 1997Scott County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1997, 7:43 PM CDT for Scott County, Iowa. It was in force for 32 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 16, 1997, 7:43 PM CDT (00:43 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Scott County, IA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 16, 7:55 PM CDTHail 1Le Claire, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 16, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 10 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1997-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6428 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1997-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 58 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
6428 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.3
Supercell composite
10.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMLI 170044 RRA
TORMLI
IAC163-170115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
743 PM CDT SAT AUG 16 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  SCOTT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  ARGO                               AROUND 745 PM CDT
  RIVERDALE                          AROUND 745 PM CDT
  PANORAMA PARK                      AROUND 745 PM CDT
  PRINCETON                          AROUND 800 PM CDT
  LE CLAIRE                          AROUND 805 PM CDT

* AT 742 PM CDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY QUAD CITIES
  IA DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS IN THE VICINITY OF QUAD
  CITIES MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. ACT QUICKLY. GO TO A SHELTER BELOW
GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES...TAKE
COVER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

~TEH/BLH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 8:21 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNCedar59 min
Aug 16, 8:35 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNMuscatine65 min
Aug 16, 9:28 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNJohnson, Washington47 min
Aug 16, 9:33 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNMuscatine62 min
Aug 16, 10:31 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNMuscatine5 hr
Aug 17, 12:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNCedar, Johnson8 hr
Aug 17, 1:04 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNKeokuk, Washington7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.