Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 7, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 20, 2003Fayette County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2003, 9:48 PM CDT for Fayette County, Iowa. It was in force for 27 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
Jul 20, 2003, 9:48 PM CDT (02:48 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2003, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fayette County, IA

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 20, 8:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 160 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 2003-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3041 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2003-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 123 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
3041 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1003 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
251 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
9.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

930 
WFUS53 KARX 210248
TORARX
IAC065-210315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
948 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FAYETTE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT

* AT 945 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO 3
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF WESTGATE...OR ABOUT 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF        
  OELWEIN...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 
  DID RECEIVE AN UNCONFIRMED REPORT OF A TORNADO SOUTH OF            
  FREDRICKSBURG NEAR HIGHWAY 93...WEST OF SUMNER...MOVING SOUTHEAST. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  NEAR SUMNER AND ORAN BY 955 PM
  NEAR OELWEIN...AND FAIRBANK AROUND 1000 PM CDT...

TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR 
FAYETTE COUNTY. 

LAT...LON 4284 9200 4274 9219 4228 9178 4241 9153

$$

BAUMGARDT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 8:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXChickasaw23 min
Jul 20, 9:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXFayette50 min
Jul 20, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningARXChickasaw30 min
Jul 20, 9:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXClayton64 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.