Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 273

May 24, 200425 counties in Iowa; 10 counties in Missouri; 39 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2004, 11:30 AM CDT for 25 counties in Iowa; 10 counties in Missouri; 39 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 11 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 24, 2004, 11:30 AM CDT (16:30 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 2004, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 11 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 74 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Boone County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Daviess County, MO, Gentry County, MO, Grundy County, MO, Harrison County, MO, Holt County, MO, Mercer County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Worth County, MO, Adams County, NE, Boone County, NE, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Gage County, NE, Greeley County, NE, Hall County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Howard County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Madison County, NE, Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Platte County, NE, Polk County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Stanton County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Thurston County, NE, Washington County, NE, Wheeler County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:30 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.

Warnings issued inside it

101 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 12:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Stanton	29 min
May 24, 12:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Harrison, Monona	47 min
May 24, 12:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Thurston, Wayne	28 min
May 24, 1:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Pawnee, Richardson	52 min
May 24, 2:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Nemaha	53 min
May 24, 2:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Nemaha, Richardson	47 min
May 24, 2:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Adair, Cass, Guthrie	41 min
May 24, 2:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Monona	24 min
May 24, 2:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Crawford	28 min
May 24, 2:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Atchison	57 min
May 24, 2:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Holt	55 min
May 24, 2:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Clay	65 min
May 24, 2:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Audubon	32 min
May 24, 3:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Otoe	42 min
May 24, 3:07 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Nuckolls	38 min
May 24, 3:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Butler, Saunders	38 min
May 24, 3:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Holt	51 min
May 24, 3:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Clay	50 min
May 24, 3:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Adair, Cass, Guthrie	46 min
May 24, 3:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Crawford	45 min
May 24, 3:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Fillmore, Thayer	59 min
May 24, 3:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Richardson	14 min
May 24, 3:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	York	66 min
May 24, 3:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Nuckolls	48 min
May 24, 3:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Fremont	47 min
May 24, 3:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Atchison	45 min
May 24, 3:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Andrew, Nodaway	43 min
May 24, 3:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Saunders	42 min
May 24, 3:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Seward	55 min
May 24, 3:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Carroll	39 min
May 24, 3:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Douglas	38 min
May 24, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Harrison, Shelby	67 min
May 24, 4:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Holt	28 min
May 24, 4:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Mills, Pottawattamie	55 min
May 24, 4:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Adair	32 min
May 24, 4:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Thayer	32 min
May 24, 4:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Fremont	27 min
May 24, 4:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Douglas, Sarpy	66 min
May 24, 4:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Lancaster, Saunders	46 min
May 24, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Sarpy	46 min
May 24, 4:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Nodaway	44 min
May 24, 4:34 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OAX	Pottawattamie	4 hr
May 24, 4:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Audubon	48 min
May 24, 4:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Gentry	63 min
May 24, 4:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Mills	31 min
May 24, 4:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Seward	46 min
May 24, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Madison	45 min
May 24, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Thayer	30 min
May 24, 4:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Fremont	28 min
May 24, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Cass	51 min
May 24, 4:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Gentry	65 min
May 24, 4:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Daviess	61 min
May 24, 5:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Pottawattamie	60 min
May 24, 5:02 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Dallas, Madison	6 hr
May 24, 5:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Dallas	56 min
May 24, 5:07 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OAX	Harrison, Shelby	4 hr
May 24, 5:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Harrison	66 min
May 24, 5:10 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OAX	Mills	4 hr
May 24, 5:12 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Audubon, Carroll, Greene, Guthrie	6 hr
May 24, 5:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Page	44 min
May 24, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Guthrie	57 min
May 24, 5:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Lancaster	26 min
May 24, 5:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Emergency	EAX	Harrison	66 min
May 24, 5:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Otoe	49 min
May 24, 5:28 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OAX	Fremont	4 hr
May 24, 5:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Madison	15 min
May 24, 5:31 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Boone	6 hr
May 24, 5:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Warren	24 min
May 24, 5:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OAX	Page	33 min
May 24, 5:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Madison	32 min
May 24, 5:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Fremont	47 min
May 24, 5:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Warren	46 min
May 24, 6:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Grundy	58 min
May 24, 6:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Page	47 min
May 24, 6:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Emergency	EAX	Mercer	60 min
May 24, 6:16 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	OAX	Montgomery, Page	4 hr
May 24, 6:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Nemaha, Otoe	44 min
May 24, 6:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Dallas, Polk	28 min
May 24, 6:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Taylor	39 min
May 24, 6:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Atchison, Nodaway	69 min
May 24, 6:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Boone, Story	64 min
May 24, 6:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Madison	49 min
May 24, 6:28 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Taylor	19 hr
May 24, 6:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Taylor	40 min
May 24, 6:42 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Warren	18 hr
May 24, 6:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Warren	30 min
May 24, 6:52 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Decatur, Ringgold	18 hr
May 24, 6:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Ringgold	38 min
May 24, 7:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Worth	43 min
May 24, 7:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Holt	51 min
May 24, 7:11 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Adair, Clarke, Lucas, Union, Wayne	18 hr
May 24, 7:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Warren	30 min
May 24, 7:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Gentry, Harrison	59 min
May 24, 7:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Andrew, Holt, Nodaway	54 min
May 24, 7:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Decatur	67 min
May 24, 7:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Ringgold	33 min
May 24, 7:28 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Holt	6 hr
May 24, 7:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DMX	Decatur	60 min
May 24, 7:39 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	EAX	Nodaway	6 hr
May 24, 7:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Mercer	44 min
May 24, 8:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Andrew, Buchanan, Putnam	53 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 63 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 731 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 210 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 289 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 241629
SEL3  
SPC WW 241630
IAZ000-MOZ000-NEZ000-250300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 273
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1130 AM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHWEST IOWA
       NORTHWEST MISSOURI
       EASTERN NEBRASKA

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1130 AM UNTIL 1000
PM CDT.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 135 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF OMAHA NEBRASKA TO
15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FALLS CITY NEBRASKA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 271...WW 272...

DISCUSSION...ISOLATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
TO INCREASE ACROSS EASTERN NEB...SPREADING INTO PARTS OF NORTHWEST
MO AND WESTERN IA THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON. THESE STORMS MAY
BECOME SUPERCELLULAR WITH THE THREAT OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES.  MORE SIGNIFICANT TORNADO RISK IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY
MID AFTERNOON OVER SOUTHEAST NEB AS NEW STORMS DEVELOP RAPIDLY ALONG
DRYLINE.  THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING
TORNADOES.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 4 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.


...HART

420,0934 395,0931 395,0981 420,0990

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 9:30 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adams, Cass, Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Page and 2 more	2 hr
May 24, 10:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, Lyon and 6 more	6 hr
May 24, 1:24 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw and 17 more	96 min
May 24, 2:08 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, Lyon and 6 more	67 min
May 24, 2:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Appanoose, Boone, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Dallas and 26 more	7 hr
May 24, 2:39 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Carroll, Cass and 18 more	96 min
May 24, 5:26 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk and 61 more	94 min
May 24, 5:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Appanoose, Davis, Des Moines, Lee, Van Buren, Wayne	5 hr
May 23, 8:40 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Jefferson, Saint Charles, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis	65 min
May 23, 9:54 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Barry, Christian, Crawford, Dent, Douglas, Greene and 11 more	96 min
May 24, 12:37 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay and 10 more	83 min
May 24, 1:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass and 11 more	9 hr
May 24, 1:54 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison and 9 more	96 min
May 24, 3:28 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay and 10 more	92 min
May 24, 6:57 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Platte	48 min
May 24, 8:41 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Boyd, Knox	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2004 Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2004 Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2004 Every tornado watch 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.