Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 96, NWS Des Moines, IA

August 26, 2004Pocahontas County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Aug 26, 2004, 3:57 PM CDT for Pocahontas County, Iowa. It was in force for 48 min. 1 report 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: Aug 26, 2004, 3:57 PM CDT (20:57 UTC)
Expired: Aug 26, 2004, 4:45 PM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pocahontas County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 133 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:57 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 26, 4:21 PM CDT	HAIL 1.5	3 W Gilmore City, IA

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 214 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: 67 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -399 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1850 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 52 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 262057
TORDMX
IAC151-262145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
357 PM CDT THU AUG 26 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA.

* UNTIL 445 PM CDT.

* AT 353 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS
  STORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF POCAHONTAS...OR 23 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF FORT DODGE...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF EASTERN
  POCAHONTAS COUNTY...INCLUDING THE TOWN OF PALMER.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4263 9474 4260 9447 4290 9446 4290 9467

$$

DONAVON

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 26, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Hancock	52 min
Aug 26, 4:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Humboldt	53 min
Aug 26, 4:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Wright	41 min
Aug 26, 4:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Cerro Gordo, Hancock	59 min
Aug 26, 4:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Humboldt	42 min
Aug 26, 5:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Wright	41 min
Aug 26, 5:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Wright	29 min
Aug 26, 6:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Sac	53 min
Aug 26, 6:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Crawford	49 min
Aug 26, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Greene	48 min
Aug 26, 6:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Taylor	53 min
Aug 26, 6:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Greene	51 min
Aug 26, 6:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Sac	50 min
Aug 26, 6:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Audubon, Cass	44 min

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.