Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 1749

July 9, 200324 counties in Iowa; 15 counties in Minnesota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jul 9, 2003, 7:43 PM CDT for 24 counties in Iowa; 15 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 9, 2003, 7:43 PM CDT (00:43 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 2003, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 39 counties

Benton County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Butler County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Delaware County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Hancock County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Howard County, IA, Kossuth County, IA, Linn County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Tama County, IA, Winnebago County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Wright County, IA, Blue Earth County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Dodge County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, Mower County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Steele County, MN, Waseca County, MN

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:43 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 2003-07-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 166 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-07-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 159 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
166 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-87 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
669 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
ACUS11 KWNS 100044
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 100043 
IAZ000-MNZ000-100115-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1749
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0743 PM CDT WED JUL 09 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...SERB MN / NERN IA

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 698...699...

VALID 100043Z - 100115Z

TORNADO WATCHES 698 AND 699 ARE SET TO EXPIRE AT 10/01Z...BUT IT
APPEARS THAT A TORNADO THREAT MAY PERSIST FOR A FEW HOURS BEYOND
THIS TIME.  THUS...NEW TORNADO WATCH WILL BE REQUIRED ACROSS PARTS
OF SERN MN AND NERN IA.

SURFACE ANALYSES AND 00Z RAOBS SUGGEST A NARROW CORRIDOR WHERE
KINEMATIC AND THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTS A CONTINUED TORNADO
THREAT -- NE OF SURFACE LOW / WARM FRONT OVER CENTRAL IA BUT
SOUTHEAST OF MORE STABLE AIR OVER S CENTRAL WI.  ALTHOUGH GREATER
INSTABILITY REMAINS SOUTH OF WARM FRONT IN WARM SECTOR...LOW-LEVEL /
ABOVE SURFACE FLOW IS MUCH MORE VEERED RESULTING IN A GENERALLY
UNIDIRECTIONAL / WEAKLY-SHEARED WIND PROFILE AND THUS MUCH LESS
LOW-LEVEL VORTICITY.

NEW TORNADO WATCH WILL LIKELY INCLUDE PARTS OF SERN MN AND NERN
IA...WITH AREAS FARTHER SOUTH INTO THE WARM SECTOR PERHAPS BEING
INCLUDED IN A NEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH.

..GOSS.. 07/10/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...DVN...ARX...MPX...DMX...

44999331 43759166 42529118 42099132 41939181 42119286
42819423 43839465

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 7:50 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBlack Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd and 10 more5 hr
Jul 9, 8:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDavis, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa and 3 more56 min
Jul 9, 8:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDes Moines, Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk and 5 more6 hr
Jul 9, 10:00 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlack Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw and 11 more60 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Minnesota, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.