Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Quad Cities, IA

May 3, 2012Mercer County, Illinois; Louisa County, Muscatine County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at May 3, 2012, 9:29 PM CDT for Mercer County, Illinois; Louisa County, Muscatine County, Iowa. It was in force for 17 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: May 3, 2012, 9:29 PM CDT (02:29 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 2012, 9:46 PM CDT
In force: 17 min
Issued by: NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Louisa County, IA, Muscatine County, IA, Mercer County, IL

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:32 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 3, 4:20 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr
May 3, 7:09 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 75 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: 1056 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1420 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

909 
WFUS53 KDVN 040229
TORDVN
IAC115-139-ILC131-040300-
/O.NEW.KDVN.TO.W.0006.120504T0229Z-120504T0300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
929 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE QUAD CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN MUSCATINE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL IOWA...
  NORTHWESTERN MERCER COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...
  NORTHERN LOUISA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IOWA...

* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT.

* AT 923 PM CDT...TRAINED SPOTTERS AND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO NEAR COLUMBUS CITY...OR NEAR COLUMBUS JUNCTION...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.  LARGE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS IS
  POSSIBLE.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  COLUMBUS CITY AND CAIRO AROUND 930 PM CDT...
  COLUMBUS JUNCTION AROUND 935 PM CDT...
  FREDONIA AROUND 940 PM CDT...
  LETTS AROUND 955 PM CDT...
  GRANDVIEW...MUSCATINE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT...FRUITLAND AND CRANSTON
  AROUND 1000 PM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IN A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM
OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A BUILDING.

TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE TWICE AS DEADLY AS DURING THE DAY AND
DIFFICULT TO SEE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT FRIDAY MORNING
FOR NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 100 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWEST
ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI.

&&

LAT...LON 4146 9115 4126 9102 4115 9136 4117 9136
      4116 9147 4132 9148
TIME...MOT...LOC 0228Z 244DEG 18KT 4125 9139

$$

LE

1 follow-up statement

649 
WWUS53 KDVN 040246
SVSDVN

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
946 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2012

IAC115-139-ILC131-040255-
/O.CAN.KDVN.TO.W.0006.000000T0000Z-120504T0300Z/
MUSCATINE IA-LOUISA IA-MERCER IL-
946 PM CDT THU MAY 3 2012

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MERCER...NORTHERN LOUISA AND
SOUTHWESTERN MUSCATINE COUNTIES IS CANCELLED...

THE THUNDERSTORM THAT WAS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO HAS 
WEAKENED. THEREFORE THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

HOWEVER...THIS STORM IS STILL CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PENNY SIZE HAIL...
FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT FRIDAY MORNING
FOR NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 100 AM CDT FRIDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWEST
ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI.

LAT...LON 4146 9115 4126 9102 4115 9136 4117 9136
      4116 9147 4132 9148
TIME...MOT...LOC 0245Z 244DEG 18KT 4129 9129

$$

LE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 10:20 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Rock Island	6 hr
May 3, 10:44 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Henry, Mercer, Rock Island	6 hr
May 3, 11:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Bureau, Henry	49 min
May 3, 11:59 PM CDT	Flash Flood Watch	DVN	Bureau, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, McDonough, Mercer and 3 more	9 hr
May 4, 12:26 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Bureau, Putnam	6 hr
May 4, 2:26 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DVN	Hancock, Henderson, McDonough, Warren	49 min
May 4, 3:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Hancock, Henderson	38 min
May 4, 4:04 AM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	DVN	Mercer, Rock Island	9 hr
May 4, 3:31 PM CDT	Flash Flood Watch	DVN	Bureau, Carroll, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, McDonough and 5 more	11 hr
May 3, 7:31 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DVN	Benton	29 min
May 3, 8:23 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DVN	Louisa, Washington	52 min
May 3, 8:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Benton	15 min
May 3, 8:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Henry, Jefferson, Louisa, Washington	33 min
May 3, 8:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Cedar, Johnson, Linn	35 min
May 3, 8:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DVN	Henry, Louisa, Muscatine, Washington	32 min
May 3, 9:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Cedar, Clinton, Scott	31 min
May 3, 9:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Cedar, Muscatine, Scott	43 min
May 3, 9:58 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Keokuk, Louisa, Washington	6 hr
May 3, 10:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Clinton, Scott	38 min
May 4, 12:06 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Louisa, Muscatine	24 min
May 4, 1:10 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Henry, Jefferson	6 hr
May 4, 2:40 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Lee, Van Buren	6 hr
May 4, 6:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DVN	Keokuk	49 min
May 4, 6:34 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DVN	Keokuk	4 hr
May 4, 11:59 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DVN	Des Moines, Henry, Lee	71 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2012 Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.