Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 14, 2003Kossuth County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Jul 14, 2003, 9:20 PM CDT for Kossuth County, Iowa. It was in force for 25 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 14, 2003, 9:20 PM CDT (02:20 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 2003, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kossuth County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 172 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:23 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
Jul 14, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 187 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 2003-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 438 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 357 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 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
438 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
837 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
357 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
466 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

299 
WFUS53 KDMX 150220
TORDMX
IAC109-150245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
920 PM CDT MON JUL 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL KOSSUTH COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 945 PM CDT

* AT 918 PM...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  LONE ROCK...OR ABOUT 40 MILES EAST OF SPENCER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
  35 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE...

  NEAR BURT AROUND 930 PM AND
  5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TITONKA AROUND 945 PM.

THIS IS A HAZARDOUS SITUATION. SEEK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT...OR IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OR IN A
CAR...SEEK SHELTER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MONDAY EVENING FOR
NORTHWESTERN IOWA. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
MIDNIGHT TUESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHEASTERN IOWA.

LAT...LON 4336 9438 4317 9439 4301 9399 4326 9398

FORSTER

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 10:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWebster32 min
Jul 14, 11:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGreene31 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.