Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Quad Cities, IA
NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2004, 3:26 PM CDT for Buchanan County, Iowa. It was in force for 64 min. 6 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, 3:26 PM CDT (20:26 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 2004, 4:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Quad Cities, IA
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Buchanan County, IA
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 152 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 3:30 PM CDT | HAIL 1.75 | Waterloo, IA | |
| May 21, 3:35 PM CDT | TSTM WND DMG | Evansdale, IA | TREES DOWN ON LAFAYETTE ST. |
| May 21, 3:41 PM CDT | HAIL 0.88 | Waterloo, IA | |
| May 21, 3:45 PM CDT | HAIL 0.88 | 1 Se Raymond, IA | |
| May 21, 3:45 PM CDT | HAIL 0.88 | 4 Se Waterloo, IA | ESTIMATED 4 MI SE OF WATERLOO, MM65, I380 |
| May 21, 4:04 PM CDT | HAIL 0.75 | Waterloo, IA |
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 10:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
| May 21, 2:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 290 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 732 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 216 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 321 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
727 WFUS53 KDVN 212026 TORDVN IAC019-212130- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 324 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE QUAD CITIES HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... BUCHANAN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA * UNTIL 430 PM CDT * AT 317 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AND TRAINED SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 15 MILES WEST OF JESUP...OR 2 MILES SOUTH OF WATERLOO...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR... JESUP BY 400 PM CDT INDEPENDENCE BY 420 PM CDT 7 MILES NORTH OF ROWLEY BY 425 PM CDT WINTHROP AND 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF QUASQUETON BY 430 PM CDT THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IN A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A BUILDING. THIS STORM HAS ALREADY PRODUCED A TORNADO AND REMAINS A THREAT. LAT...LON 4250 9249 4232 9246 4235 9166 4262 9171 $$ ERVIN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Johnson, Washington | 62 min |
| May 20, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Louisa | 64 min |
| May 20, 7:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar | 66 min |
| May 21, 6:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Buchanan, Delaware | 62 min |
| May 21, 3:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Benton | 48 min |
| May 21, 3:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Benton | 37 min |
| May 21, 4:12 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Linn | 63 min |
| May 21, 4:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Benton | 31 min |
| May 21, 4:43 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DVN | Benton, Buchanan, Delaware, Linn | 6 hr |
| May 21, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Benton | 61 min |
| May 21, 4:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Benton | 57 min |
| May 21, 4:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Delaware | 54 min |
| May 21, 5:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Jones | 55 min |
| May 21, 5:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Linn | 54 min |
| May 21, 5:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Clinton, Jackson | 67 min |
| May 21, 5:51 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DVN | Jones | 6 hr |
| May 21, 5:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Jones | 64 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.