Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Watches in 2018

Tornado Watch 367

September 3, 201812 counties in Iowa

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 3, 2018, 6:09 PM CDT for 12 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 3, 2018, 6:09 PM CDT (23:09 UTC)
Expired
Sep 3, 2018, 8:37 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Benton County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Delaware County, IA, Dubuque County, IA, Iowa County, IA, Jackson County, IA, Jones County, IA, Linn County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Tama County, IA

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:11 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
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
50%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 3, 6:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDelaware, Dubuque39 min
Sep 3, 6:58 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXPoweshiek32 min
Sep 3, 7:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXBlack Hawk3 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 130 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2018-09-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1178 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2018-09-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 118 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1178 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
851 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
118 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

513 
WWUS20 KWNS 032306
SEL7  
SPC WW 032306
IAZ000-040300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 367
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
610 PM CDT Mon Sep 3 2018

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Small part of central and northeastern Iowa

* Effective this Monday evening from 610 PM until 1000 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible

SUMMARY...A narrow corridor of tornado threat is expected to persist
for a few more hours this evening, where supercells interact with a
slow-moving warm front.  A couple of tornadoes will be possible
prior to gradual stabilization of the low levels by early tonight.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 30 statute miles
north and south of a line from 65 miles west southwest of Cedar
Rapids IA to 15 miles north northeast of Dubuque IA. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 366...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
storm motion vector 25025.

...Thompson

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 3, 1:20 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCedar, Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Jackson and 9 more2 hr
Sep 3, 5:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Adams, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer and 39 more58 min

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.