Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2017

Mesoscale Discussion 749

May 17, 20174 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 17, 2017, 2:25 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2017, 2:25 PM CDT (19:25 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2017, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 85 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Boone County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Marion County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Polk County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Sac County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Story County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Webster County, IA, Wright County, IA, Atchison County, KS, Brown County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Geary County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Riley County, KS, Shawnee County, KS, Wabaunsee County, KS, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Caldwell County, MO, Clay 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, Sullivan County, MO, Worth County, MO, Burt County, NE, Cass County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Gage County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Washington County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:28 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 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 94 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 2017-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 121 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 2017-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 119 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
121 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-156 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1106 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

196 
ACUS11 KWNS 171925
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 171925 
IAZ000-MOZ000-KSZ000-NEZ000-172030-

Mesoscale Discussion 0749
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0225 PM CDT Wed May 17 2017

Areas affected...Northeast KS...Northern MO...Eastern NE...IA

Concerning...Tornado Watch 231...

Valid 171925Z - 172030Z

The severe weather threat for Tornado Watch 231 continues.

SUMMARY...Greatest tornado threat appears to be shifting to the
northern half of WW231.

DISCUSSION...Surface low has moved quickly into east-central NE,
just northwest of OMA.  Substantial boundary-layer drying has
advected northeast across KS into western MO where surface dew
points have lowered into the low-mid 50s.  This drying should
continue as south-southwesterly winds are gusting well in excess of
40kt across southeast KS/southwest MO.  In response to large-scale
forcing shifting into the mid MS Valley, boundary-layer moisture
will likely hold across the northern half of IA into southern WI. 
It appears the most robust convection will focus along a corridor
from southeast NE...northeast toward southwest WI.  Numerous
showers/thunderstorms are evolving within this zone and discrete
supercells should mature over the next few hours.  Tornado threat
should increase across this region, along and south of synoptic
front draped from northwest IA into southeast MN.

..Darrow.. 05/17/2017

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

ATTN...WFO...DMX...EAX...FSD...OAX...TOP...

LAT...LON   41979684 42989303 39649303 38649684 41979684

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 7:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone and 59 more59 min
May 16, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllamakee, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo and 29 more5 hr
May 16, 9:43 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Audubon, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass and 16 more62 min
May 16, 11:48 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Allamakee, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Butler and 28 more117 min
May 17, 11:39 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Boone, Carroll and 28 more66 min
May 17, 12:08 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone and 64 more7 hr
May 17, 12:23 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Clayton97 min
May 17, 2:38 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and 15 more97 min
May 17, 3:13 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Floyd, Howard and 2 more9 hr
May 17, 3:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clinton, Davis, Delaware and 17 more66 min
May 17, 3:44 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBenton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines and 15 more9 hr
May 17, 6:05 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Cedar and 18 more55 min
May 16, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCheyenne, Decatur, Rawlins5 hr
May 16, 9:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCowley, Harper, Sumner37 min
May 16, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarber, Cowley, Harper, Sumner6 hr
May 16, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarton, Butler, Chase, Comanche, Dickinson, Edwards and 17 more5 hr
May 17, 1:49 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCButler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Geary and 4 more56 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2017Mesoscale Discussions in Missouri, 2017Mesoscale Discussions in Nebraska, 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.