Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 91, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 3, 2004Madison County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 3, 2004, 7:47 PM CDT for Madison County, Iowa. It was in force for 43 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
Aug 3, 2004, 7:47 PM CDT (00:47 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 2004, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Madison County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:47 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
Aug 3, 4:25 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 292 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 00:00Z on 2004-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2771 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 00:00Z on 2004-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 54 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
2771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1163 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
16.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KDMX 040047
TORDMX
IAC121-040130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
747 PM CDT TUE AUG 3 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN MADISON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 743 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
  A TORNADO 7 MILES NORTH OF WINTERSET MADISON COUNTY AIRPORT...OR
  ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DES MOINES...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE...

  8 MILES NORTH OF PATTERSON AROUND 755 PM CDT.

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 4149 9410 4132 9413 4131 9383 4150 9381

$$

DONAVON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 3, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBoone, Dallas53 min
Aug 3, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin45 min
Aug 3, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Guthrie29 min
Aug 3, 7:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPolk49 min
Aug 3, 7:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXFranklin26 min
Aug 3, 8:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWarren52 min
Aug 3, 8:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXDallas, Polk4 hr
Aug 3, 8:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarion32 min
Aug 3, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXLucas39 min
Aug 3, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXLucas28 min
Aug 3, 9:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams, Taylor52 min
Aug 3, 10:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXWayne51 min
Aug 3, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDecatur45 min
Aug 3, 11:30 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXDecatur, Wayne4 hr

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.