Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 8, 2002Marion County, Warren County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2002, 8:01 PM CDT for Marion County, Warren County, Iowa. It was in force for 44 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 8, 2002, 8:01 PM CDT (01:01 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2002, 8:45 PM CDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Marion County, IA, Warren County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:01 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 8, 8:05 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Knoxville, IA
May 8, 8:15 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Pleasantville, IA	Brief spin up gustnado in open area.
May 8, 8:17 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Knoxville, IA
May 8, 8:40 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Harvey, 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 8, 5:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 234 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: 1642 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 951 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 227 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 6.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KDMX 090101
TORDSM
IAC125-181-090145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
800 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MARION COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA
  EASTERN WARREN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT

* AT 755 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER MILO...OR ABOUT 21 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DES MOINES...
  MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE...

  4 MILES SOUTH OF PLEASANTVILLE AROUND 810 PM...
  NEAR KNOXVILLE AROUND 820 PM AND
  2 MILES NORTH OF HARVEY AROUND 840 PM.

AT 800 PM A WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD JUST WEST OF TH 
MARION COUNTY LINE IN WARREN COUNTY. 

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...GO TO A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...GET IN A CULVERT OR DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR
HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR
SOUTHERN IOWA. LAT...LON 4151 9353 4117 9355 4117 9290 4151 9293

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 7:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Ringgold	48 min
May 8, 7:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Clarke	41 min
May 8, 7:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Decatur, Warren	39 min
May 8, 7:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Marion	65 min
May 8, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Wayne	47 min
May 8, 8:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Lucas, Monroe	44 min
May 8, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Jasper, Mahaska, Poweshiek	49 min
May 8, 8:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Mahaska, Marion	39 min
May 8, 8:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Poweshiek	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

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.