Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS La Crosse, WI

June 11, 2004Howard County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jun 11, 2004, 5:32 PM CDT for Howard County, Iowa. It was in force for 43 min. 4 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: Jun 11, 2004, 5:32 PM CDT (22:32 UTC)
Expired: Jun 11, 2004, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 43 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), 115 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:33 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

Time	Report	Where
Jun 11, 5:40 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 E Riceville, IA
Jun 11, 5:40 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 E Riceville, IA
Jun 11, 6:02 PM CDT	TORNADO	N Riceville, IA
Jun 11, 6:02 PM CDT	TORNADO	N Riceville, IA

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 11, 1:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Jun 11, 5:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 190 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 572 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

160 
WFUS53 KARX 112232
TORARX
IAC089-112315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
532 PM CDT FRI JUN 11 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT

* AT 531 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO
  4 MILES NORTHWEST OF ELMA...OR 16 MILES EAST OF OSAGE. THE TORNADO
  WAS MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH. SPOTTERS HAVE ALSO REPORTED BRIEF
  TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SARATOGA AROUND 537 PM CDT...
  HAYDEN PRAIRIE AND COUNTY V 10 AND 40TH STREET AROUND 550 PM CDT...
  LIME SPRINGS AROUND 555 PM CDT...
  CHESTER AROUND 600 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 4328 9257 4321 9242 4350 9222 4350 9253

$$

SHEA

Nearby

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