Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 9, NWS La Crosse, WI

May 31, 1998Clayton County, Fayette County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1998, 1:36 AM CDT for Clayton County, Fayette County, Iowa. It was in force for 34 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
May 31, 1998, 1:36 AM CDT (06:36 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1998, 2:10 AM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clayton County, IA, Fayette County, IA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 31, 1:40 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 55Oelwein, IA
May 31, 1:50 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 57Strawberry Pt, 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
May 31, 12:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 164 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 1998-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1779 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1998-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 221 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1779 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-287 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1354 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
565 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

522 
WFUS1 KLSE 310637 RRA
TORLSE
IAC043-065-310710-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
136 AM CDT SUN MAY 31 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN IOWA
  SOUTHERN CLAYTON COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN IOWA

* UNTIL 210 AM CDT

* AT AT 130 AM...SPOTTERS INDICATED A TORNADO 10 MILES EAST OF
  OELWEIN... MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  NEAR STRAWBERRY POINT AT 145 AM

A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND GO TO THE BASEMENT IF A BASEMENT IS
NOT AVAILABLE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

RRS


&

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 12:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXChickasaw, Winneshiek64 min
May 31, 12:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXAllamakee64 min
May 31, 1:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXClayton, Fayette65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.