Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 873
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 29, 2004, 6:30 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 29, 2004, 6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 30, 2004, 12:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 84 counties
Allamakee County, IA, Benton County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Cedar County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Clinton County, IA, Delaware County, IA, Des Moines County, IA, Dubuque County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Henry County, IA, Iowa County, IA, Jackson County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Johnson County, IA, Jones County, IA, Keokuk County, IA, Lee County, IA, Linn County, IA, Louisa County, IA, Muscatine County, IA, Scott County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Washington County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Bureau County, IL, Carroll County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Hancock County, IL, Henderson County, IL, Henry County, IL, Jo Daviess County, IL, Knox County, IL, McDonough County, IL, Mercer County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Rock Island County, IL, Stark County, IL, Stephenson County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Warren County, IL, Whiteside County, IL, Fillmore County, MN, Houston County, MN, Winona County, MN, Clark County, MO, Scotland County, MO, Adams County, WI, Barron County, WI, Buffalo County, WI, Chippewa County, WI, Clark County, WI, Columbia County, WI, Crawford County, WI, Dane County, WI, Dunn County, WI, Eau Claire County, WI, Grant County, WI, Green County, WI, Iowa County, WI, Iron County, WI, Jackson County, WI, Juneau County, WI, La Crosse County, WI, Lafayette County, WI, Lincoln County, WI, Marathon County, WI, Marquette County, WI, Monroe County, WI, Oneida County, WI, Pepin County, WI, Portage County, WI, Price County, WI, Richland County, WI, Rusk County, WI, Sauk County, WI, Sawyer County, WI, Taylor County, WI, Trempealeau County, WI, Vernon County, WI, Vilas County, WI, Washburn County, WI, Waushara County, WI, Wood County, WI
Warnings issued inside it
33 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Fillmore | 67 min |
| Oct 29, 7:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Benton, Iowa | 55 min |
| Oct 29, 7:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Dunn | 34 min |
| Oct 29, 7:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Marshall, Peoria, Woodford | 57 min |
| Oct 29, 7:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Barron | 42 min |
| Oct 29, 7:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Buffalo, Jackson, Trempealeau | 46 min |
| Oct 29, 8:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Buffalo, Trempealeau | 44 min |
| Oct 29, 8:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Winona | 24 min |
| Oct 29, 8:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Eau Claire | 46 min |
| Oct 29, 8:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Houston | 34 min |
| Oct 29, 8:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Jackson, La Crosse, Trempealeau | 45 min |
| Oct 29, 8:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Johnson, Louisa, Muscatine, Washington | 57 min |
| Oct 29, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Johnson | 45 min |
| Oct 29, 9:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar | 33 min |
| Oct 29, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Des Moines, Henry, Louisa | 45 min |
| Oct 29, 9:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Jones | 32 min |
| Oct 29, 9:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | La Crosse | 47 min |
| Oct 29, 9:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Lincoln, Marathon, Wood | 60 min |
| Oct 29, 9:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clinton | 44 min |
| Oct 29, 9:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Mercer, Rock Island | 39 min |
| Oct 29, 9:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Muscatine | 34 min |
| Oct 29, 10:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Rock Island | 53 min |
| Oct 29, 10:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Carroll, Jo Daviess | 37 min |
| Oct 29, 10:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Lincoln, Marathon | 59 min |
| Oct 29, 10:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Stephenson | 48 min |
| Oct 29, 10:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Wood | 46 min |
| Oct 29, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Dane, Green, Iowa, Lafayette | 58 min |
| Oct 29, 11:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Fulton, Mason | 23 min |
| Oct 29, 11:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Oneida | 46 min |
| Oct 29, 11:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Whiteside | 29 min |
| Oct 29, 11:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Columbia | 43 min |
| Oct 29, 11:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Knox | 50 min |
| Oct 29, 11:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Tazewell | 47 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
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 133 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
- 691 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -65 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 762 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 175 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 172 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 3.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 292334
SEL3
SPC WW 292330
IAZ000-ILZ000-MNZ000-WIZ000-300500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 873
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
630 PM CDT FRI OCT 29 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN IOWA
NORTHWEST ILLINOIS
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
WESTERN AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN
EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT FROM 630 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES NORTHWEST OF RHINELANDER WISCONSIN TO 35
MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF BURLINGTON IOWA.
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 869...WW 870...WW 871...WW
872...
DISCUSSION...INTENSE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED VERY STRONG JET CONTINUES
NEWD ACROSS PLAINS AND WILL PROVIDE FAVORABLE PARAMETERS FOR
TORNADIC SUPERCELLS. WITH MDT INSTABILITY IN PLACE ONGOING SEVERE
STORMS EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE THRU THE
EVENING WITH TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ALONG WITH BOW ECHOES SPREAD EWD
ACROSS THE WATCH AREA.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.
...HALES
462,0890 401,0892 401,0921 462,0920SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 5:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jo Daviess | 89 min |
| Oct 29, 6:16 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles and 33 more | 119 min |
| Oct 29, 2:12 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Butler and 46 more | 3 hr |
| Oct 29, 2:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone and 46 more | 6 hr |
| Oct 29, 3:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Emmet, Winnebago, Worth | 5 hr |
| Oct 29, 5:24 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Boone, Bremer, Butler and 33 more | 96 min |
| Oct 29, 10:08 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Big Stone, Grant, Lac qui Parle, Pope, Stevens, Swift and 1 more | 3 hr |
| Oct 29, 2:57 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aitkin, Becker, Carlton, Cass, Clay, Crow Wing and 10 more | 3 hr |
| Oct 29, 3:19 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anoka, Benton, Blue Earth, Carver, Chisago, Dakota and 23 more | 116 min |
| Oct 29, 6:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anoka, Benton, Chisago, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore and 18 more | 95 min |
| Oct 29, 12:39 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton and 6 more | 3 hr |
| Oct 29, 5:10 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Barton, Bates, Benton, Boone, Caldwell and 41 more | 5 hr |
| Oct 29, 6:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Christian, McDonald, Newton, Stone | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2004Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2004Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2004Every 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.