Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 31, 2003Butler County, Franklin County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 2003, 11:04 PM CDT for Butler County, Franklin County, Iowa. It was in force for 26 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 31, 2003, 11:04 PM CDT (04:04 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 2003, 11:30 PM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Butler County, IA, Franklin County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:07 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 nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 232 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 2003-08-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 857 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2003-08-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
857 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1878 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

846 
WFUS53 KDMX 010404
TORDMX
IAC023-069-010430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1103 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BUTLER COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA
  EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT

* AT 1057 PM...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO 8 MILES NORTH OF AREDALE...OR ABOUT 16 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  MASON CITY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE...

  5 MILES NORTHEAST OF AREDALE AROUND 1110 PM...
  6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GREENE AROUND 1115 PM...
  4 MILES NORTHEAST OF BRISTOW AROUND 1120 PM...
  NEAR ALLISON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AROUND 1125 PM AND
  5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CLARKSVILLE AROUND 1130 PM.

AT 1103 PM A WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED TENNIS BALL SIZED HAIL 
BREAKING OUT WINDOWS AND DAMAGING SIDING IN ROCKWELL.

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.

LAT...LON 4292 9258 4291 9335 4255 9315 4256 9258

$$

SMALL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 31, 9:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPalo Alto45 min
Jul 31, 10:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo54 min
Jul 31, 10:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPocahontas44 min
Jul 31, 10:51 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXCerro Gordo24 min
Jul 31, 11:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXButler, Franklin46 min
Jul 31, 11:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWright32 min
Aug 1, 1:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska, Wapello32 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.