Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 21, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 5, 2004Fayette County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 2004, 6:33 PM CDT for Fayette County, Iowa. It was in force for 27 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 5, 2004, 6:33 PM CDT (23:33 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2004, 7:00 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 radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:33 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 5, 6:35 PM CDTTORNADO1 N Arlington, IATORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY IN A CORN FIELD
Jul 5, 6:35 PM CDTTORNADO1 N Arlington, IATORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY IN A CORN FIELD

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 168 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 477 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 12:00Z on 2004-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 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
477 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-177 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1211 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 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 052333
TORARX
IAC065-060000-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* AT 633 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO 3
  MILES NORTH OF ARLINGTON...OR ABOUT 14 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WEST
  UNION. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  WADENA AROUND 640 PM CDT...
  ALBANY AROUND 645 PM CDT...
  BRAINARD AROUND 655 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 4271 9178 4273 9161 4306 9162 4297 9181

$$

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, 5:52 PM CDTTornado WarningARXHoward38 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.