Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2004

Mesoscale Discussion 792

May 21, 200426 counties in Iowa; 26 counties in Minnesota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 21, 2004, 6:23 AM CDT for 26 counties in Iowa; 26 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 67 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 21, 2004, 6:23 AM CDT (11:23 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 2004, 7:30 AM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 52 counties

Allamakee County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Butler County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clay County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, Emmet County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Hancock County, IA, Howard County, IA, Humboldt County, IA, Kossuth County, IA, Lyon County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA, Palo Alto County, IA, Sioux County, IA, Winnebago County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Wright County, IA, Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Cottonwood County, MN, Dodge County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Houston County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, Mower County, MN, Murray County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Rice County, MN, Rock County, MN, Steele County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Watonwan County, MN, Winona County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:26 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 nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 157 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2004-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2004-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -46 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1738 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
121 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.

511 
ACUS11 KWNS 211123
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 211123 
WIZ000-IAZ000-MNZ000-SDZ000-211230-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0792
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0623 AM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

AREAS AFFECTED...SRN MN/NRN IA

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 228...229...230...

VALID 211123Z - 211230Z

WW/S 228/229/230 WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AS SCHEDULED AT 12Z.

WIND PROFILER/VAD DATA SHOW THE STRONG NOCTURNAL LLJ HAS CONTINUED
TO VEER AND IS NOW ORIENTED WSWLY ACROSS CENTRAL IA/NWRN MO. 
SURFACE ANALYSIS AT 11Z SHOWED A LOW OVER ERN NEB...20 SW OLU...WITH
THE WARM FRONT CONTINUING TO SLOWLY MOVE NWD ACROSS CENTRAL IA.  THE
LLJ WILL FOCUS THE STRONGEST ISENTROPIC ASCENT ATOP A SHALLOW
BOUNDARY LAYER...PER RUC POINT FORECAST SOUNDINGS...ACROSS FAR NERN
IA AND SWRN WI DURING THE NEXT 2-3 HOURS.  MUCAPE VALUES OF
2000-3000 J/KG AND STRONG CAPE BEARING SHEAR WILL CONTINUE TO
SUPPORT ELEVATED SUPERCELLS WITH HAIL AS THE PRIMARY THREAT. 
REGIONAL RADARS SHOW THE STRONGEST STORM IS LOCATED IN FAYETTE
COUNTY IA...AND SHOULD EXIT THE ERN PORTION OF WW 230 BY 12Z.  

ALTHOUGH A FEW STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE
REST OF NRN IA INTO SRN MN...RADAR TRENDS SHOW AN OVERALL DECREASE
IN STORM INTENSITIES.  THUS...THESE WW/S WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE
AT 12Z.

..PETERS.. 05/21/2004

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...DVN...ARX...MPX...DMX...FSD...

42499114 42589376 43129652 43559652 44229638 44409597
44599200 43629114

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 7:32 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCedar, Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk and 5 more88 min
May 20, 10:03 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCFremont, Harrison, Mills, Pottawattamie87 min
May 21, 1:11 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAudubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cherokee and 27 more34 min
May 21, 1:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAudubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cherokee and 19 more6 hr
May 21, 2:22 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan and 47 more23 min
May 21, 2:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and 22 more4 hr
May 21, 4:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler and 35 more56 min
May 21, 9:44 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista and 38 more3 hr
May 21, 10:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and 37 more6 hr
May 21, 1:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo and 9 more2 hr
May 21, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllamakee, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer and 59 more7 hr
May 21, 6:33 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLyon, Plymouth, Sioux, Woodbury57 min
May 21, 2:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBlue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore and 20 more5 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2004Mesoscale Discussions in Minnesota, 2004Every mesoscale discussion 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.