Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS La Crosse, WI

June 27, 2003Howard County, Winneshiek County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jun 27, 2003, 8:13 PM CDT for Howard County, Winneshiek County, Iowa. It was in force for 62 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 27, 2003, 8:13 PM CDT (01:13 UTC)
Expired
Jun 27, 2003, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Howard County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:14 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 27, 6:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 205 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-06-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 141 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-06-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 50 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
141 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1253 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
110 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.

094 
WFUS53 KARX 280113
TORARX
IAC089-191-280215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
810 PM CDT FRI JUN 27 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  HOWARD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA
  WINNESHIEK COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 810 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER BONAIR...OR ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  CRESCO...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE DEVELOPING TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR CRESCO AT 820 PM CDT...
  NEAR KENDALLVILLE AT 825 PM CDT...
  NEAR BLUFFTON...AND RIDGEWAY AT 840 PM CDT...
  NEAR BURR OAK AT 845 PM CDT...
  NEAR DECORAH AT 900 PM CDT...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON RADAR...IT MEANS THAT
STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY NOT BE
OCCURRING WHEN THE WARNING IS ISSUED...BUT ONE IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...TAKE COVER
IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

LAT...LON 4348 9220 4337 9222 4322 9177 4343 9169

$$

BOYNE

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 27, 7:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHoward61 min
Jun 27, 8:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXMitchell65 min
Jun 27, 9:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXAllamakee, Winneshiek47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.