Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2015

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 464

August 2, 201526 counties in Iowa; 22 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 2, 2015, 6:47 PM CDT for 26 counties in Iowa; 22 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 2, 2015, 6:47 PM CDT (23:47 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 2015, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 48 counties

Adams County, IA, Appanoose County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Davis County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Henry County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Keokuk County, IA, Lee County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Marion County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monroe County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Wapello County, IA, Warren County, IA, Washington County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Adair County, MO, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Chariton County, MO, Clark County, MO, Daviess County, MO, DeKalb County, MO, Gentry County, MO, Grundy County, MO, Harrison County, MO, Holt County, MO, Linn County, MO, Livingston County, MO, Macon County, MO, Mercer County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Putnam County, MO, Randolph County, MO, Schuyler County, MO, Scotland County, MO, Sullivan County, MO, Worth County, MO

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:50 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
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
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 6:55 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedDMXAdams, Union18 min
Aug 2, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXMahaska23 min
Aug 2, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams, Taylor44 min
Aug 2, 7:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair, Adams, Ringgold, Union51 min
Aug 2, 7:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose, Decatur, Lucas, Wayne41 min
Aug 2, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNKeokuk40 min
Aug 2, 7:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXMercer, Putnam, Sullivan50 min
Aug 2, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams, Taylor48 min
Aug 2, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdams, Ringgold, Taylor, Union49 min
Aug 2, 8:12 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXTaylor33 min
Aug 2, 8:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXAdair, Putnam, Sullivan29 min
Aug 2, 8:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXHarrison37 min
Aug 2, 8:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTaylor46 min
Aug 2, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXAdair, Linn, Macon, Sullivan32 min
Aug 2, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXNodaway, Worth42 min
Aug 2, 8:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXDaviess, Grundy, Harrison, Mercer49 min
Aug 2, 9:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXChariton, Linn, Macon, Randolph34 min
Aug 2, 9:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXGentry, Nodaway, Worth51 min
Aug 2, 9:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXCaldwell, Daviess, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston43 min
Aug 2, 9:39 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEAXGentry, Harrison, Nodaway, Worth6 hr
Aug 2, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXChariton, Linn, Livingston30 min
Aug 2, 10:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPage46 min
Aug 2, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXNodaway, Worth42 min
Aug 2, 11:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXTaylor46 min
Aug 2, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPage35 min
Aug 2, 11:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXGentry, Nodaway45 min
Aug 3, 12:05 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningEAXGentry, Nodaway6 hr
Aug 3, 12:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXGentry, Nodaway48 min
Aug 3, 1:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXAndrew, Buchanan, DeKalb34 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 207 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2015-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1593 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2015-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 170 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
1593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-188 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1258 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
170 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 4:48 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Calhoun, Carroll and 25 more2 hr
Aug 2, 6:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Appanoose, Cass, Clarke, Dallas and 25 more53 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Iowa, 2015Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Missouri, 2015Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2015

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.