Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2017

Mesoscale Discussion 201

February 23, 20175 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 23, 2017, 9:48 PM CST for 5 states. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 23, 2017, 9:48 PM CST (03:48 UTC)
Expired
Feb 24, 2017, 12:15 AM CST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
20%
All 91 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Appanoose County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Benton County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Boone County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Cass County, IA, Cedar County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Davis County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Des Moines County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Henry County, IA, Iowa County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Johnson County, IA, Keokuk County, IA, Lee County, IA, Linn County, IA, Louisa County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monroe County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Muscatine County, IA, Page County, IA, Polk County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Wapello County, IA, Warren County, IA, Washington County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Henderson County, IL, Atchison County, KS, Brown County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Adair County, MO, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Caldwell County, MO, Clinton 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, Mercer County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Platte County, MO, Putnam County, MO, Schuyler County, MO, Scotland County, MO, Sullivan County, MO, Worth County, MO, Cass County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Richardson County, NE

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:51 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 nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 205 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 00:00Z on 2017-02-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2017-02-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 333 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
540 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
74 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
333 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
826 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

020 
ACUS11 KWNS 240349
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 240348 
ILZ000-IAZ000-MOZ000-KSZ000-NEZ000-240615-

Mesoscale Discussion 0201
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0948 PM CST Thu Feb 23 2017

Areas affected...Northeastern KS...far southeastern NE...northern
MO...and southern/central IA

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch unlikely 

Valid 240348Z - 240615Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...20 percent

SUMMARY...Isolated marginally severe hail may occur with elevated
thunderstorms through the early overnight hours. Watch issuance is
unlikely.

DISCUSSION...A band of elevated convection located over far
southeastern NE as of 0330Z is associated with forcing for ascent
attendant to a shortwave trough over the central Plains and a
strengthening low-level jet over MO/IA. These thunderstorms will
very likely remain elevated to the north of a frontal boundary as a
surface low across southeastern KS translates northeastward across
MO toward western IL overnight. Although near-surface moisture will
be meager, sufficient low-level moisture centered around 850 mb per
the 00Z Topeka, KS sounding combined with steep mid-level lapse
rates in excess of 8 degrees C/km will generally support MUCAPE of
250-1000 J/kg, decreasing with northward extent into central IA.
Effective shear on the order of 40-60 kt will support updraft
organization, and isolated instances of marginally severe hail may
occur through the early overnight hours if thunderstorms can remain
relatively discrete. With time, clustering of thunderstorms cores
will likely occur as they move northeastward into an increasingly
marginal thermodynamic environment in central/northern IA.

..Gleason/Hart.. 02/24/2017

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...LSX...DVN...DMX...EAX...OAX...TOP...

LAT...LON   39189605 39419667 40809630 41399589 42459369 42639224
            42439137 41659092 40839089 39619344 39129518 39189605

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 24, 2:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClark, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, Vermilion2 hr
Feb 23, 6:05 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBuena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay and 27 more6 hr
Feb 23, 11:54 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll and 33 more6 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2017Mesoscale Discussions in Missouri, 2017Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2017Every mesoscale discussion in 2017

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.