Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 11, NWS La Crosse, WI

June 17, 2009Howard County, Mitchell County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jun 17, 2009, 8:52 PM CDT for Howard County, Mitchell County, Iowa. It was in force for 53 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 17, 2009, 8:52 PM CDT (01:52 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 2009, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Howard County, IA, Mitchell County, IA

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:55 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 17, 7:01 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 176 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 2009-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1471 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2009-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 219 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1471 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
751 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
350 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
12.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KARX 180152
TORARX
IAC089-131-180245-
/O.NEW.KARX.TO.W.0011.090618T0152Z-090618T0245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
852 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN MITCHELL COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA...
  NORTHWESTERN HOWARD COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA...

* UNTIL 945 PM CDT

* AT 850 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM SPOTTERS INDICATED A
  TORNADO 8 MILES NORTH OF MEYER...OR 14 MILES SOUTHEAST OF AUSTIN...
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED A TORNADO WITH 
  INJURIES IN AUSTIN TONIGHT AND IS MOVING TOWARD IOWA. 

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  MEYER AROUND 900 PM...
  LITTLE CEDAR AROUND 905 PM...
  BAILEY AROUND 910 PM...
  MCINTIRE AND COUNTY ROADS T 54 AND A 31 AROUND 915 PM...
  COUNTY V 10 AND 40TH STREET AROUND 925 PM...
  RICEVILLE AROUND 930 PM...
  SARATOGA AROUND 945 PM...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR A STURDY BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...LAY FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9281 4350 9245 4334 9228 4335 9273
TIME...MOT...LOC 0151Z 303DEG 20KT 4356 9272

$$

BAUMGARDT
1 follow-up statement
000 
WWUS53 KARX 180234
SVSARX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
934 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

IAC089-131-180245-
/O.CON.KARX.TO.W.0011.000000T0000Z-090618T0245Z/
MITCHELL IA-HOWARD IA-
934 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 945 PM CDT FOR
NORTHWESTERN HOWARD AND NORTHEASTERN MITCHELL COUNTIES...

AT 931 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED
NEAR MCINTIRE...OR 16 MILES NORTHEAST OF OSAGE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 
15 MPH. THIS IS STILL A DANGEROUS STORM AND HAS HAD A HISTORY OF 
PRODUCING A TORNADO WITH INJURIES. 

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SARATOGA AND RICEVILLE AROUND 945 PM...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR A STURDY BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...LAY FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9281 4350 9245 4334 9228 4335 9273
TIME...MOT...LOC 0233Z 297DEG 14KT 4340 9253

$$

BAUMGARDT

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 7:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHoward, Mitchell65 min
Jun 17, 7:28 PM CDTTornado WarningARXFloyd47 min
Jun 17, 8:10 PM CDTTornado WarningARXChickasaw, Floyd50 min
Jun 17, 8:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHoward, Winneshiek46 min
Jun 17, 8:59 PM CDTTornado WarningARXChickasaw46 min
Jun 17, 9:29 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningARXChickasaw3 hr
Jun 17, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHoward45 min
Jun 17, 9:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXChickasaw, Fayette25 min
Jun 17, 10:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXChickasaw, Howard, Winneshiek56 min
Jun 17, 11:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXChickasaw, Fayette, Winneshiek57 min
Jun 18, 12:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXFayette34 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2009Every tornado warning in 2009Tornadoes in 2009

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.