Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Des Moines, IA

April 12, 1998Crawford County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 12, 1998, 7:47 PM CDT for Crawford County, Iowa. It was in force for 33 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 12, 1998, 7:47 PM CDT (00:47 UTC)
Expired
Apr 12, 1998, 8:20 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Crawford County, IA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 12, 8:00 PM CDTHail 1Denison, 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
Apr 12, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 114 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 1998-04-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 390 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1998-04-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 210 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
390 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-83 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1826 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
210 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
324 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 130047 RRA
SVRDSM
IAC047-130120-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
747 PM CDT SUN APR 12 1998

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  SOUTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 820 PM CDT
 
* SOME AREAS AFFECTED
    BUCK GROVE
    MANILLA
    ASPINWALL
    DOW CITY

* AT 745 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR DUNLAP OR 45
  MILES NORTHEAST OF COUNCIL BLUFFS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR BUCK GROVE AND MANILLA BY 810 PM.

LARGE HAIL AND INTENSE RAINFALL IS LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.

STARK

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 12, 3:33 PM CDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-
092>097-130230-

CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
333 PM CDT SUN APR 12 1998

HAZARD--ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH AND
HAIL UP TO GOLFBALL SIZE.

AREA OF CONCERN--WEST OF INTERSTATE 35.

TIMING DETAILS--BETWEEN 600 AND 1100 PM.

METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS--A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP
ALONG A DRY LINE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA...ONE OF WHICH HAS BECOME SEVERE
ALREADY. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER IOWA CONTINUES TO DESTABILIZE WITH STRONG
WINDS AS HIGH AS 70 MPH AT 5000 FEET. ANY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ABLE
TO BRING THESE WINDS DOWN TO THE SURFACE AND CAUSE DAMAGE. MOISTURE
REMAINS SOMEWHAT LIMITED...SO TORNADOES STILL APPEAR UNLIKELY.
HOWEVER...RAPID COOLING ALOFT WILL BE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT ISOLATED LARGE
HAIL. BY LATE EVENING AS THE DRY LINE MOVES TO AROUND I-35 AND THE LOW
LEVELS COOL OFF...THE STORMS SHOULD BEGIN TO WEAKEN.

PRECAUTIONS--A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED WEST OF AN
ESTHERVILLE-SHENANDOAH LINE UNTIL 900 PM. SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD BE
UNDERWAY IN THIS AREA. SPOTTER GROUPS FURTHER EAST SHOULD BE PREPARED
FOR ACTIVATION LATER THIS EVENING. ANY SEVERE STORMS SHOULD BE RATHER
ISOLATED.

PYTLAK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 12, 7:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXEmmet34 min
Apr 12, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCarroll, Crawford48 min
Apr 12, 8:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCarroll32 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.