Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 124, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 5, 2000Polk County, Warren County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 5, 2000, 10:58 AM CDT for Polk County, Warren County, Iowa. It was in force for 47 min. 6 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jul 5, 2000, 10:58 AM CDT (15:58 UTC)
Expired: Jul 5, 2000, 11:45 AM CDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Polk County, IA, Warren County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:55 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
Jul 5, 11:10 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Cumming, IA
Jul 5, 11:18 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Martensdale, IA
Jul 5, 11:20 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Windsor Hgts, IA
Jul 5, 11:35 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 70 E	West Des Moines, IA
Jul 5, 11:40 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 56 E	Norwalk, IA
Jul 5, 11:41 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 53 M	Des Moines Arpt, 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
Jul 5, 10:30 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 224 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 945 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -328 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1164 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 181 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KDMX 051559
SVRDSM
IAC153-181-051645-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1058 AM CDT WED JUL 5 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERNWEST POLK COUNTY IN CENTRAL IOWA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF DES MOINES
  WARREN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 1145 AM

* AT 1055 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRIMES TO 13
  MILES WEST OF BEVINGTON...OR FROM 17 MILES NORTHWEST OF DES MOINES
  TO 28 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE...
  NEAR CLIVE AROUND 1110 AM
  NEAR JOHNSTON AROUND 1110 AM
  NEAR DES MOINES AROUND 1120 AM
  NEAR CARLISLE AROUND 1130 AM
  NEAR HARTFORD AROUND 1140 AM

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS OF 70 TO 80 MILES AN HOUR ARE LIKELY IN THE 
WARNED AREA.  THE HIGHEST WINDS WILL PASS JUST SOUTH OF THE IMEDIATE 
DES MOINES METROPOLITAN AREA.

SEEK A STURDY SHELTER SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM.

LAT...LON 4176 9381 4142 9381 4117 9381 4115 9356
          4116 9333h 4151 9333

NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 5, 8:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Crawford	52 min
Jul 5, 10:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Dallas, Madison	33 min
Jul 5, 11:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Marion	44 min
Jul 5, 12:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Marion	35 min
Jul 5, 12:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Mahaska, Monroe	40 min
Jul 5, 12:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Wapello	47 min
Jul 5, 2:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Adams	43 min
Jul 5, 2:07 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Jefferson, Van Buren	6 hr
Jul 5, 2:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Adams, Union	6 hr
Jul 5, 3:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Taylor	41 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.