Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 28, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1999, 6:38 PM CDT for Audubon County, Cass County, Iowa. It was in force for 47 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
- May 16, 1999, 6:38 PM CDT (23:38 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 1999, 7:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Audubon County, IA, Cass County, IA
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 7:04 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Atlantic, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 286 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
- 3044 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -186 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 631 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 562 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 521 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDSM 162338 RRA TORDSM IAC009-029-170025- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 638 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... AUDUBON COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL IOWA CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN IOWA * UNTIL 725 PM CDT * AT 634 PM CDT... LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO 38 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF OMAHA OR NEAR AUDUBON...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. * ANOTHER TORNADO CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR... GRISWOLD BY 645 PM CDT LEWIS BY 700 PM CDT GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR! JW
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 16, 6:27 PM CDT, 11 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 6:27 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 628PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 RAINFALL RATES GETTING OUT OF HAND SO ALTHOUGH ITS A LTL LATE HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE CWA OVNGT. MAIN TSTM COMPLEX TWRD MO RVR HAS YET TO REACH FA AND WITH CONVECTION LINING UP INTO KS...SGFNT TRAINING MAY TAKE PLACE. .DSM...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TNGT ENTIRE DMX FA. SMALL
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 16, 2:24 PM CDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-162000- CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 224 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 HAZARD--SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES. HEAVY RAINS ARE ALSO LIKELY. AREA OF CONCERN--ALL OF THE DES MOINES NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WARNING AREA. TIMING DETAILS--THUNDERSTORMS COULD RAPIDLY DEVELOP AT ANY TIME ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA OR EXTREME WESTERN IOWA AND THEN MOVE TOWARD INTERSTATE 35 LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY THIS EVENING. SOUTHEASTERN SECTIONS NEAR OTTUMWA WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST IOWA NEAR WATERLOO SHOULD END BY 300 OR 400 PM WITH MORE STORMS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING. METEOROLOGICAL COMMENTS--A COLD FRONT WAS POSITIONED FROM CENTRAL KANSAS TOWARD THE MISSOURI RIVER NEAR WEST CENTRAL IOWA THIS AFTERNOON AND WAS SLOWLY MOVING INTO IOWA. THE AIRMASS EAST OF THE FRONT WAS VERY UNSTABLE AND WITH LITTLE CAP OR WARM AIR ALOFT TO PROHIBIT DEVELOPMENT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD RAPIDLY FORM AT ANY TIME AND QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE. THE COMBINATION OF ADEQUATE WIND SHEAR LEVELS AND HIGH INSTABILITY WILL MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND MORE LARGE HAIL. OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM EARLIER THUNDERSTORMS AND THE AFOREMENTIONED WIND SHEAR COULD ALSO CAUSE TORNADOES TO DEVELOP IN THE STRONGER STORMS. WITH SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE 70S MOVING INTO WESTERN IOWA...THE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND POSSIBLE FLOODING. PRECAUTIONS--SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES COULD BE ISSUED AT ANY TIME ACROSS WESTERN IOWA. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR CONCERNS SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO FUTURE STATEMENTS...WATCHES AND WARNING. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD CHANGE QUICKLY SO BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION. SMALL
Local storm report, May 16, 3:10 PM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
310 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1145 AM WOOLSTOCK IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 WRIGHT
1201 PM POPEJOY IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1203 PM ROWAN IA 1.25 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 WRIGHT
1212 PM HAMPTON IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1223 PM 2 NE HANSELL IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1230 PM 4 SE ALLISON IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
1248 PM 2 S BRISTOW IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
1251 PM 2 E PLAINFIELD IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
1253 PM 5 SE HANSELL IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
0105 PM 7 E PLAINFIELD IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
0121 PM 7 SW ALLISON IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
0130 PM PARKERSBURG IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
0150 PM 4 SW SUMNER IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
0221 PM 5 N WATERLOO IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BLACKHAWKLocal storm report, May 16, 3:10 PM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
310 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1145 AM WOOLSTOCK IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 WRIGHT
1201 PM POPEJOY IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1203 PM ROWAN IA 1.25 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 WRIGHT
1212 PM HAMPTON IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1221 PM 2 E DOWS IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1223 PM 2 NE HANSELL IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
1230 PM 4 SE ALLISON IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
1248 PM 2 S BRISTOW IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
1251 PM 2 E PLAINFIELD IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
1253 PM 5 SE HANSELL IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 FRANKLIN
0105 PM 7 E PLAINFIELD IA 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
0121 PM 7 SW ALLISON IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
0130 PM PARKERSBURG IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BUTLER
0150 PM 4 SW SUMNER IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BREMER
0221 PM 5 N WATERLOO IA .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/99 BLACKHAWKThe office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 3:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Clarke | 33 min |
| May 16, 4:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Warren | 36 min |
| May 16, 8:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Greene | 33 min |
| May 16, 9:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Boone, Greene | 36 min |
| May 16, 9:24 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Sac | 41 min |
| May 16, 10:12 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Boone, Story | 33 min |
| May 16, 10:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Calhoun, Webster | 32 min |
| May 16, 10:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Hamilton, Hardin | 33 min |
| May 16, 10:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Webster | 32 min |
| May 16, 11:18 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Hardin | 32 min |
| May 16, 11:23 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Hamilton, Wright | 47 min |
| May 16, 12:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Franklin | 45 min |
| May 16, 12:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Butler | 63 min |
| May 16, 12:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Bremer | 65 min |
| May 16, 12:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Franklin | 34 min |
| May 16, 1:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Butler | 32 min |
| May 16, 1:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Bremer | 62 min |
| May 16, 2:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Black Hawk | 47 min |
| May 16, 3:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Crawford | 33 min |
| May 16, 4:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Crawford | 17 min |
| May 16, 4:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Crawford | 50 min |
| May 16, 4:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Hardin | 32 min |
| May 16, 4:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Black Hawk, Grundy | 32 min |
| May 16, 4:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Sac | 47 min |
| May 16, 5:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Black Hawk, Bremer | 35 min |
| May 16, 6:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Cass | 32 min |
| May 16, 6:17 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Hardin | 2 hr |
| May 16, 6:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Butler | 34 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999
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.