Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Watches in 2018

Tornado Watch 219

June 25, 201819 counties in Iowa

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 25, 2018, 5:40 PM CDT for 19 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 25, 2018, 5:40 PM CDT (22:40 UTC)
Expired
Jun 25, 2018, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Boone County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Polk County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Wayne County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:44 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
5%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
40%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 25, 5:58 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXDecatur, Ringgold32 min
Jun 25, 6:47 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXMadison28 min
Jun 25, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXDallas, Madison, Polk, Warren30 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, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 172 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 2018-06-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 118 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 2018-06-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -89 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
118 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
796 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-89 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

360 
WWUS20 KWNS 252235
SEL9  
SPC WW 252235
IAZ000-260200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 219
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
535 PM CDT Mon Jun 25 2018

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Central and southern Iowa

* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 535 PM until
  900 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...A narrow arc of thunderstorms will offer the potential
mainly for a brief tornadoes and damaging gusts into early evening,
as it moves northward to northeastward across the watch area.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles
east and west of a line from 5 miles south of Lamoni IA to 60 miles
northwest of Des Moines IA. For a complete depiction of the watch
see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 218...

AVIATION...TORNADOES and A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE and ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE and SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22025.


...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 25, 5:14 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Clarke, Decatur and 14 more2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2018Every tornado watch in 2018

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.