Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Quad Cities, IA

May 16, 1999Henry County, Johnson County, Washington County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1999, 10:40 PM CDT for Henry County, Johnson County, Washington County, Iowa. It was in force for 45 min. 3 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 16, 1999, 10:40 PM CDT (03:40 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1999, 11:25 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Henry County, IA, Johnson County, IA, Washington County, IA

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:40 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 11:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWashington, IASevere winds tore the metal roof from a welding shop and blew it into a neighboring business.
May 16, 11:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindIowa City, IASevere thunderstorm winds downed trees.
May 16, 11:05 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWest Chester, IASevere thunderstorm winds downed tree branches onto the roofs of at least 2 houses.

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 16, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 98 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 1999-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3009 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 1999-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 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
3009 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1174 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
5.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WUUS1 KMLI 170342 RRA
SVRMLI
IAC087-103-113-183-170425-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
1040 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN QUAD CITIES IA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  HENRY COUNTY IOWA IN SOUTHEASTERN IOWA
  JOHNSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL IOWA
  LINN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL IOWA
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN IOWA

* UNTIL 1125 PM CDT

* AT 1040 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM NEAR CEDAR RAPIDS TO WEST OF IOWA
CITY... MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH ARE LIKELY.

GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

MCCLURE/KINNEY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 7:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDubuque, Jones61 min
May 16, 7:39 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNBuchanan4 hr
May 16, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDubuque49 min
May 16, 9:10 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNDubuque35 min
May 16, 9:46 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNDubuque49 min
May 16, 10:13 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNBenton47 min
May 16, 10:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNKeokuk46 min
May 16, 10:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNLinn45 min
May 16, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDes Moines, Lee, Louisa63 min
May 16, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNCedar, Muscatine63 min
May 16, 10:54 PM CDTTornado WarningDVNDubuque51 min
May 16, 11:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton, Jackson50 min
May 16, 11:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNScott47 min
May 16, 11:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNDubuque6 hr
May 16, 11:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNBuchanan, Delaware6 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1999Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.