Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 307, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 21, 2004Winnebago County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 21, 2004, 2:31 AM CDT for Winnebago County, Iowa. It was in force for 29 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 21, 2004, 2:31 AM CDT (07:31 UTC)
Expired
Jul 21, 2004, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Winnebago County, IA

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 163 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:34 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 2004-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1847 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 2004-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 13 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1847 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1144 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KDMX 210731
SVRDMX
IAC189-210800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
231 AM CDT WED JUL 21 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WINNEBAGO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 300 AM CDT

* AT 228 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THOMPSON...OR ABOUT 33 MILES WEST OF MASON
  CITY...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE...

  NEAR LELAND AROUND 240 AM CDT AND
  6 MILES SOUTH OF LAKE MILLS AROUND 250 AM CDT.

VERY STRONG WINDS UP TO 60 MPH ARE LIKELY IN THE WARNED AREA.

MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF YOU LIVE IN A
MOBILE HOME...SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4348 9392 4326 9393 4326 9353 4349 9351

$$

KULA

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 1:20 PM CDT, 13 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
120 PM CDT TUE JUL 20 2004

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-048>050-211100-
BLACK HAWK-BREMER-BUTLER-CALHOUN-CERRO GORDO-EMMET-FRANKLIN-GRUNDY-
HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HARDIN-HUMBOLDT-KOSSUTH-MARSHALL-PALO ALTO-
POCAHONTAS-SAC-STORY-TAMA-WEBSTER-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-WRIGHT-
120 PM CDT TUE JUL 20 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF MID
IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.  THE STORMS WILL MOVE EAST AND
MOVE INTO THE ESTHERVILLE AND SAC CITY AREAS AFTER 7 PM AND SPREAD
AS FAR EAST AS THE WATERLOO AND TAMA AREAS AFTER MIDNIGHT. SOME OF
THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH HAIL OF UP TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND
WINDS UP TO 60 MPH.  A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY
DURING THE EVENING HOURS. THE GREATEST RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL
BE ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND
NIGHT.  A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL PUSH SOUTH INTO THE AREA AND AID IN
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT DURING MAXIMUM HEATING OF THE AFTERNOON
AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING.  DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN
THREAT FROM THESE STORMS...WITH A LESSER RISK OF TORNADOES AND HAIL.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE AFTER 7 PM TONIGHT...AND AGAIN
LATE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

IAZ044>047-057>062-070>075-081>086-092>097-211100-
ADAIR-ADAMS-APPANOOSE-AUDUBON-BOONE-CARROLL-CASS-CLARKE-CRAWFORD-
DALLAS-DAVIS-DECATUR-GREENE-GUTHRIE-JASPER-LUCAS-MADISON-MAHASKA-
MARION-MONROE-POLK-POWESHIEK-RINGGOLD-TAYLOR-UNION-WAPELLO-WARREN-
WAYNE-
120 PM CDT TUE JUL 20 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MID IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA LATE
THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING.  A STRONG CAP IS EXPECTED TO BE IN
PLACE OVER SOUTHERN IOWA AND AS A RESULT...MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA.  THUNDERSTORMS MAY
SLIDE SOUTH FROM THE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX TO THE NORTH AFTER 10 PM
TONIGHT.  THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE WILL BE FOR HIGH WINDS UP TO 60
MPH AND HAIL OF THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH OR LARGER IN DIAMETER.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND
NIGHT.  A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL PUSH SOUTH INTO THE AREA AND AID IN
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT DURING MAXIMUM HEATING OF THE AFTERNOON
AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING.  DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN
THREAT FROM THESE STORMS...WITH A LESSER RISK OF TORNADOES AND
HAIL.  THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ON
THURSDAY AS THE AS THE FRONT CONTINUES TO PUSH THROUGH SOUTHERN IOWA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE AFTER 10 PM TONIGHT...AND AGAIN
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

DONAVON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 5:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton, Wright46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2004Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.