Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2012
Tornado Warning 5, NWS La Crosse, WI
NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Aug 9, 2012, 4:55 PM CDT for Fayette County, Winneshiek County, Iowa. It was in force for 20 min. 6 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 9, 2012, 4:55 PM CDT (21:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 9, 2012, 5:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 20 min
- Issued by
- NWS La Crosse, WI
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
Counties Fayette County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA
The radar
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 4:55 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 4 E Ridgeway, IA | DIME TO QUARTER SIZED. ALSO SOME SMALL BRANCHES DOWNED FROM WIND. |
| Aug 9, 4:56 PM CDT | HAIL 1.75 | 4 E Ridgeway, IA | QUARTER TO GOLFBALL. DENTED CAMPER. WIND ESTIMATED AT 50 MPH WITH LEAVES SPRAYED ONTO SIDE OF HOUSE. NO DAMAGE TO HOME SIDING. |
| Aug 9, 4:56 PM CDT | HAIL 2 | 2 W Decorah, IA | COURTESY KWWL MEDIA. VERIFIED WITH PICTURE. |
| Aug 9, 5:05 PM CDT | TSTM WND GST 70 | Conover, IA | |
| Aug 9, 5:10 PM CDT | TSTM WND GST 70 | Calmar, IA | CALMAR FIRE DEPARTMENT ESTIMATED A WIND GUST OF 70 MILES PER HOUR. |
| Aug 9, 5:10 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 2 Ne Calmar, IA | COOPERATIVE OBSERVER MEASURED UP TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL. DRIFTS OF HAIL IN ROAD DITCH AND THE CORN WAS STRIPPED OF THE LEAVES WITH STALKS AND EARS LEFT. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
The nearest sounding before it
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 194 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
- 351 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -94 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 646 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 130 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
864 WFUS53 KARX 092155 TORARX IAC065-191-092300- /O.NEW.KARX.TO.W.0005.120809T2155Z-120809T2300Z/ BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 455 PM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHEASTERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA... CENTRAL WINNESHIEK COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA... * UNTIL 600 PM CDT * AT 450 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR STATE ROAD 9 AND 245TH STREET...OR 6 MILES WEST OF DECORAH...MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH. THIS TORNADO WARNING UPGRADES THE PREVIOUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR FAYETTE AND WINNESHIEK COUNTIES. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... CONOVER AROUND 500 PM... CALMAR AND FORT ATKINSON AROUND 505 PM... OSSIAN AROUND 510 PM... FESTINA AROUND 515 PM... ST. LUCAS AROUND 520 PM... ELDORADO AND COUNTY ROADS W 42 AND B 40 AROUND 525 PM... DOUGLAS AROUND 530 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 4292 9161 4291 9193 4330 9200 4333 9182 TIME...MOT...LOC 2155Z 345DEG 25KT 4324 9190 $$ JW
2 follow-up statements
308 WWUS53 KARX 092206 SVSARX SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 506 PM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 IAC065-191-092300- /O.CON.KARX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-120809T2300Z/ FAYETTE IA-WINNESHIEK IA- 506 PM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL WINNESHIEK AND NORTHEASTERN FAYETTE COUNTIES UNTIL 600 PM CDT... AT 503 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO LOCATED NEAR CALMAR...OR 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DECORAH...MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH. IN ADDITION TO A TORNADO...THIS STORM CAN PRODUCE QUARTER SIZE HAIL. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... OSSIAN AROUND 510 PM... FESTINA AROUND 515 PM... ST. LUCAS AROUND 520 PM... ELDORADO AROUND 525 PM... COUNTY ROADS W 42 AND B 40 AND DOUGLAS AROUND 530 PM... WEST UNION AROUND 535 PM... ELGIN AND BRAINARD AROUND 545 PM... PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR A STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...LAY FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD. && LAT...LON 4292 9161 4291 9193 4321 9196 4323 9180 TIME...MOT...LOC 2206Z 345DEG 25KT 4317 9186 $$ JW
066 WWUS53 KARX 092215 SVSARX SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 515 PM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 IAC065-191-092224- /O.CAN.KARX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-120809T2300Z/ FAYETTE IA-WINNESHIEK IA- 515 PM CDT THU AUG 9 2012 ...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL WINNESHIEK AND NORTHEASTERN FAYETTE COUNTIES IS CANCELLED... THE TORNADO THREAT HAS DIMINISHED...THEREFORE THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HOWEVER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN WINNESHIEK AND NORTHERN FAYETTE COUNTIES. LAT...LON 4292 9161 4291 9193 4321 9196 4323 9180 TIME...MOT...LOC 2214Z 345DEG 25KT 4312 9184 $$ JW
The office that day
Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Chickasaw, Howard | 52 min |
| Aug 9, 4:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Fayette, Winneshiek | 56 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2012Every tornado warning in 2012Tornadoes in 2012
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.