Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 21, 2004Palo Alto County, Pocahontas County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2004, 5:54 PM CDT for Palo Alto County, Pocahontas County, Iowa. It was in force for 51 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
May 21, 2004, 5:54 PM CDT (22:54 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 2004, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Palo Alto County, IA, Pocahontas County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 153 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:57 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
May 21, 6:10 PM CDTTORNADO1 E Rolfe, IARELAYED VIA AMATEUR RADIO.
May 21, 6:10 PM CDTTORNADORolfe, IATHREE TORNADOES. NUMEROUS INJURIES. CONSIDERABLE PROPERTY DAMAGE.
May 21, 6:22 PM CDTTORNADO2 E Rolfe, IA
May 21, 6:46 PM CDTHAIL 0.751 S Rolfe, IARELAYED VIA AMATEUR RADIO.

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
May 21, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 224 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2004-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 718 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2004-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 128 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
718 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-227 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1161 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 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.

374 
WFUS53 KDMX 212254
TORDMX
IAC147-151-212345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
554 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN PALO ALTO COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA
  NORTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 552 PM...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF HAVELOCK...OR ABOUT 28 MILES SOUTHEAST
  OF SPENCER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE...

  NEAR MALLARD AROUND 600 PM AND
  NEAR RODMAN AROUND 620 PM.

THIS IS A HAZARDOUS SITUATION. SEEK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT...OR IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OR IN A
CAR...SEEK SHELTER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4292 9490 4277 9477 4279 9446 4312 9446

$$

SMALL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 2:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCrawford42 min
May 21, 2:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXSac53 min
May 21, 4:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin28 min
May 21, 5:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBremer37 min
May 21, 10:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPalo Alto61 min
May 21, 11:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHancock67 min
May 21, 11:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo, Worth50 min
May 21, 12:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXButler40 min
May 21, 12:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo, Worth16 min
May 21, 12:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton40 min
May 21, 1:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWebster58 min
May 21, 1:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCalhoun35 min
May 21, 1:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHardin48 min
May 21, 1:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGrundy35 min
May 21, 2:02 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXGrundy43 min
May 21, 2:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin, Wright25 min
May 21, 2:06 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXHamilton39 min
May 21, 2:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHardin55 min
May 21, 2:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin, Wright47 min
May 21, 2:39 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXHardin51 min
May 21, 2:43 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXBlack Hawk57 min
May 21, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXGrundy45 min
May 21, 3:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXButler39 min
May 21, 3:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTama23 min
May 21, 3:27 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXGrundy48 min
May 21, 3:35 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXBlack Hawk40 min
May 21, 3:38 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXBlack Hawk, Palo Alto, Pocahontas119 days
May 21, 3:44 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXMarshall, Tama31 min
May 21, 4:16 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXTama29 min
May 21, 5:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWright44 min
May 21, 5:27 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXPalo Alto, Pocahontas, Taylor120 days
May 21, 5:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo, Hancock48 min
May 21, 5:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPalo Alto45 min
May 21, 5:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin43 min
May 21, 5:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGrundy, Hardin53 min
May 21, 6:09 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAdams, Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth and 1 more120 days
May 21, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo45 min
May 21, 6:15 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXHumboldt, Kossuth45 min
May 21, 6:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXButler53 min
May 21, 6:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPocahontas24 min
May 21, 6:41 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXHumboldt34 min
May 21, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBremer36 min
May 21, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWright51 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.