Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Watches in 2006

Tornado Watch 779

September 16, 200635 counties in Iowa; 7 counties in Minnesota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 16, 2006, 8:34 PM CDT for 35 counties in Iowa; 7 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 16, 2006, 8:34 PM CDT (01:34 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 2006, 4:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 42 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Boone County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Butler County, IA, Cass County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Howard County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Madison County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Polk County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Dodge County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Houston County, MN, Mower County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Winona County, MN

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:37 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Cass35 min
Sep 16, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGuthrie40 min
Sep 16, 11:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Cass30 min
Sep 16, 11:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCerro Gordo48 min
Sep 16, 11:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton, Webster45 min
Sep 16, 11:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBoone, Greene34 min
Sep 17, 12:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams, Taylor35 min
Sep 17, 12:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHardin35 min
Sep 17, 12:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Guthrie, Union47 min
Sep 17, 1:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Madison37 min
Sep 17, 1:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXBoone43 min
Sep 17, 1:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXStory42 min
Sep 17, 1:57 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXHamilton, Hardin48 min
Sep 17, 2:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXGrundy33 min
Sep 17, 2:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMarshall28 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 237 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 2006-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1108 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2006-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 328 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
1108 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1090 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
328 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
428 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.8
Supercell composite
11.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 8:15 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun and 29 more2 hr
Sep 16, 11:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk and 45 more2 hr
Sep 16, 9:54 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Carlton and 27 more66 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2006Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2006Every tornado watch in 2006

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.