Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 61, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

September 5, 20044 counties in Iowa

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this tornado warning at Sep 5, 2004, 4:33 PM CDT for 4 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 27 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: Sep 5, 2004, 4:33 PM CDT (21:33 UTC)
Expired: Sep 5, 2004, 5:00 PM CDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Clay County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:33 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
Sep 5, 5:08 PM CDT	TORNADO	4 W Spirit Lake, IA	LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED TORNADO ON GROUND NEAR VICKS CORNER.

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
Sep 5, 3:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 225 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: 246 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 698 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 282 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 329 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KFSD 052133
TORFSD
IAC041-059-141-143-052200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
433 PM CDT SUN SEP 5 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN CLAY COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA
  WESTERN DICKINSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA
  NORTHEAST OBRIEN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA
  SOUTHEAST OSCEOLA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST IOWA

* UNTIL 500 PM CDT

* AT 430 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR HARTLEY...
  OR ABOUT 14 MILES WEST OF SPENCER...MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.
  DOPPLER RADAR ALSO INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR HARLTEY. 

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  LAKE PARK AROUND 455 PM CDT

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME. TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT SUNDAY EVENING FOR
NORTHWEST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA.

LAT...LON 4317 9554 4311 9534 4346 9515 4349 9535

$$

CJ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 5, 3:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FSD	Cherokee, Ida, Plymouth, Woodbury	28 min
Sep 5, 3:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FSD	Lyon, Osceola	45 min
Sep 5, 3:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FSD	Cherokee, O'Brien	46 min
Sep 5, 4:57 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FSD	Dickinson	33 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.