Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Des Moines, IA

May 8, 2004Dallas County, Madison County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2004, 7:29 PM CDT for Dallas County, Madison County, Iowa. It was in force for 31 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
May 8, 2004, 7:29 PM CDT (00:29 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 2004, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Dallas County, IA, Madison County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:31 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
May 8, 3:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 00:00Z on 2004-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2163 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2004-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 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
2163 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2150 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
104 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 KDMX 090029
TORDMX
IAC049-121-090100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
727 PM CDT SAT MAY 8 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN DALLAS COUNTY IN CENTRAL IOWA
  NORTHERN MADISON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 726 PM...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH A HISTORY OF
  TORNADOES 3 MILES NORTH OF EARLHAM...OR ABOUT 26 MILES WEST OF DES
  MOINES...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE...

  NEAR EARLHAM AROUND 735 PM...
  7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF VAN METER AROUND 740 PM...
  NEAR WINTERSET MADISON COUNTY AIRPORT AROUND 755 PM AND
  3 MILES NORTHEAST OF WINTERSET AROUND 800 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.  AT 728 PM...QUARTER TO 
HALF DOLLAR SIZED HAIL WAS REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT JUST WEST OF 
ADEL

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM SATURDAY
EVENING FOR NORTHERN IOWA.

LAT...LON 4158 9401 4157 9425 4123 9418 4136 9380

$$

FORSTER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton, Wright42 min
May 8, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGuthrie25 min
May 8, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPolk31 min
May 8, 7:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo, Franklin59 min
May 8, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Guthrie28 min
May 8, 7:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXGreene, Guthrie, Kossuth129 days
May 8, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Madison, Warren46 min
May 8, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGuthrie40 min
May 8, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison47 min
May 8, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair44 min
May 8, 8:56 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAudubon, Emmet, Palo Alto129 days
May 8, 9:01 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAdair, Madison, Winnebago129 days
May 8, 9:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCass47 min
May 8, 9:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison31 min
May 8, 9:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair49 min
May 8, 10:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMadison44 min
May 8, 10:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXUnion46 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.