Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 20, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 5, 2004Howard County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 2004, 5:52 PM CDT for Howard County, Iowa. It was in force for 38 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 5, 2004, 5:52 PM CDT (22:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2004, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Howard County, IA

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:53 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 5, 4:20 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 203 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 12 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
548 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 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.

000 
WFUS53 KARX 052252
TORARX
IAC089-052330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
551 PM CDT MON JUL 5 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 630 PM CDT

* AT 551 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO
  OVER COUNTY ROADS V 58 AND A 46...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTH OF CRESCO.
  THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CRESCO AROUND 605 PM CDT...
  BONAIR AROUND 625 PM CDT...
  
A TORNADO IS BEING DETECTED BY RADAR. THIS MEANS THAT A TORNADO MAY
NOT BE OCCURRING WHEN THE WARNING IS ISSUED...BUT ONE IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP. TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR A STURDY BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...LAY FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

LAT...LON 4324 9220 4325 9209 4349 9208 4349 9221

$$

THOMPSON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 4:39 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningARXFayette4 hr
Jul 5, 5:13 PM CDTTornado WarningARXFayette32 min
Jul 5, 6:33 PM CDTTornado WarningARXFayette27 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.