Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 243

May 8, 200039 counties in Iowa; 12 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 8, 2000, 1:00 AM CDT for 39 counties in Iowa; 12 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 8, 2000, 1:00 AM CDT (06:00 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 2000, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 51 counties

Adair County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Boone County, IA, Buena Vista County, IA, Butler County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hancock County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Howard County, IA, Humboldt County, IA, Ida County, IA, Kossuth County, IA, Mills County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Palo Alto County, IA, Pocahontas County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Sac County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Webster County, IA, Winnebago County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Wright County, IA, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Washington County, NE, York County, NE

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 1:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXButler, Lancaster, Saunders, Seward53 min
May 8, 1:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXKossuth32 min
May 8, 1:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXButler, Saline, Seward47 min
May 8, 2:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXLancaster, Saunders47 min
May 8, 2:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXGage, Johnson, Otoe49 min
May 8, 2:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Cass29 min
May 8, 3:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Sarpy, Saunders45 min
May 8, 3:17 AM CDTTornado WarningOAXNemaha, Otoe28 min
May 8, 4:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas29 min

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 91 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 2000-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2120 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 2000-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
2120 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1168 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

303 
WWUS9 KMKC 080531
SEL3  

SEL3  
MKC WW 080531
IAZ000-NEZ000-081100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 243
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1231 AM CDT MON MAY 8 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   WESTERN AND CENTRAL IOWA                               
   SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA                           

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 100 AM UNTIL 600 AM CDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTH OF LINCOLN NEBRASKA TO
35 MILES NORTHEAST OF MASON CITY IOWA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 241...WW 242...

DISCUSSION...SQUALL LINE MOVING EWD AT 45 KT WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND SOME HAIL FOR A FEW MORE HOURS...GIVEN
STRONG INSTABILITY AND INCREASING DEEP LAYER SHEAR.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 26040.

...VESCIO

433,0912 403,0952 403,0980 433,0941

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBuena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Ida and 9 more5 hr
May 8, 7:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCClinton, Jackson, Scott5 hr
May 8, 2:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCedar, Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson and 6 more6 hr
May 7, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBlaine, Boyd, Brown, Holt, Hooker, Keya Paha and 6 more6 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Iowa, 2000Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Nebraska, 2000Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.