Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2020

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 33, NWS Omaha, NE

May 24, 2020Douglas County, Nebraska; Harrison County, Pottawattamie County, Shelby County, Iowa

NWS Omaha, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 2020, 5:38 AM CDT for Douglas County, Nebraska; Harrison County, Pottawattamie County, Shelby County, Iowa. It was in force for 52 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 2020, 5:38 AM CDT (10:38 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2020, 6:30 AM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Omaha, NE
Area
Storm-based polygon
Hail
0.75 in
Wind
60.0 mph

Counties Harrison County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Douglas County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:43 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 23, 11:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr
May 24, 5:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 59 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 2020-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 446 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 00:00Z on 2020-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 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
446 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-238 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1484 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 24, 3:51 AM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 3:51 AM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
351 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 345 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

Main forecast concerns are thunderstorms, chance of severe storms
and potential for rain amounts high enough to cause flooding. Will
issue a Flash Flood Watch for 4 pm today until Noon Monday for
southern parts of the area.

MCS continues to move east with development on southern end. Added
some counties to Severe Watch until 6 am. Storms should die out
toward mid morning as low level jet continues to veer and will
weaken later. That leaves a probable lull in strong convection
for late morning and early afternoon. Storms could again fire up
in the area mid to late afternoon. Any outflow boundaries may
enhance storms. 0-1 km MLCAPE values from the RAP13 model increase
to near 3000 J/kg this afternoon and evening across southeast NE
and southwest IA, with 0-6 km bulk shear ranging from 20 to 40
knots. Shear should be the lowest near the MO border and highest
in areas west of a line from Wayne to David City. The atmosphere
will remain quite moist today and tonight with PW values up to
near 1.5 inches. Heavy rain will be possible with many locations
getting 1 to 3 inches. Locally higher amounts will be possible.
Main severe threat is currently expected to be before 8 am today
and then again probably 4 pm to midnight tonight. Mid level height
falls should affect the area tonight, with shortwave energy
moving in from the southwest.

Pattern will remain active into Monday, possibly Tuesday. Chances
start to drop for Wednesday, then it looks drier from Thursday
into Sunday as the large scale pattern changes. Closed low sets up
over TX and OK, with main westerlies across the northern tier of
the US. A ridge at 500 mb should develop over the Four Corners
Region then try to build northeast toward our area by Sunday.

AFD shortened due to ongoing severe weather early this morning.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Sunday night)
Issued at 1140 PM CDT Sat May 23 2020

An MCS evolving over central NE will progress through portions of
eastern NE overnight into Sunday morning. KOFK is most likely to
be impacted by this system with variably gusty winds and potential
for MVFR to IFR ceilings and visibilities. KOMA and KLNK may
receive more of a glancing blow toward daybreak Sunday. Ahead of
the MCS, a strong low-level jet will result in LLWS at KOMA and
KLNK overnight. Another round of thunderstorms is expected late
Sunday afternoon and evening at KOMA and KLNK.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Flash Flood Watch from this afternoon through Monday morning for
     NEZ042-050-065>068-078-088>093.

IA...Flash Flood Watch from this afternoon through Monday morning for
     IAZ079-080-090-091.

&&

DISCUSSION...Miller
AVIATION...Mead
Hazardous weather outlook, May 24, 4:25 AM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
425 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-
042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-242330-
Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont-
Page-Knox-Cedar-Thurston-Antelope-Pierce-Wayne-Boone-Madison-
Stanton-Cuming-Burt-Platte-Colfax-Dodge-Washington-Butler-
Saunders-Douglas-Sarpy-Seward-Lancaster-Cass-Otoe-Saline-
Jefferson-Gage-Johnson-Nemaha-Pawnee-Richardson-
425 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest
Iowa...west central Iowa...east central Nebraska...northeast
Nebraska and southeast Nebraska.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Strong to severe thunderstorms are moving through parts of the
area early this morning. Some of these are producing winds over
60 mph and hail. The storms should weaken and generally end mid
to late morning across the area.

New storm development is expected mid to late this afternoon and
into the evening. Storms could be severe, with large hail,
damaging winds and heavy rain. The area with the highest chance of
severe weather is generally southeast of a line from David City to
Onawa. The main window of time for severe weather later today
is from 4 pm to midnight. A flash flood watch is also in effect
for parts of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa from 4 pm today
until noon Monday.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

Storms could continue to produce pockets of heavy rain overnight
and into Monday morning.

Thunderstorms could occur over parts of the area at times from
Monday afternoon into Wednesday, especially in southeast Nebraska
and southwest Iowa. At this time, the chance of organized severe
storms from Monday into Wednesday seems fairly low.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation could be needed this afternoon and evening.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 24, 4:16 AM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 24, 4:17 AM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
417 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0400 AM     TSTM WND GST     2 WNW WEST POINT        41.85N 96.74W
05/24/2020  M57 MPH          CUMING             NE   PUBLIC

            PUBLIC WEATHER STATION.

&&
Special weather statement, May 24, 4:35 AM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska
435 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

NEZ050>053-065>067-078-089-241000-
Saunders NE-Cass NE-Sarpy NE-Seward NE-Gage NE-Butler NE-
Lancaster NE-Douglas NE-Saline NE-
435 AM CDT Sun May 24 2020

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN SARPY...LANCASTER...
EASTERN SEWARD...SOUTHWESTERN DOUGLAS...NORTHEASTERN SALINE...
SOUTHEASTERN BUTLER...SAUNDERS...NORTHWESTERN GAGE AND WESTERN CASS
COUNTIES UNTIL 500 AM CDT...

At 434 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from 4 miles northwest of Wahoo to Crete. Movement
was east at 25 mph.

Half inch hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with
these storms.

Locations impacted include...
Lincoln, Seward, Crete, Wahoo, Gretna, Waverly, Ashland, Milford,
Wilber, Hickman, Yutan, Bennet, Firth, Dorchester, Valparaiso, Mead,
Greenwood, Cortland, Brainard and Weston.

This includes Interstate 80 in Nebraska between mile markers 379 and
430.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 600 AM CDT for
southeastern and east central Nebraska.

LAT...LON 4052 9721 4133 9695 4127 9617 4078 9643
      4078 9646 4072 9646 4044 9661
TIME...MOT...LOC 0934Z 282DEG 22KT 4125 9669 4064 9696

Albright
Local storm report, May 24, 5:07 AM CDT, 31 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 24, 5:10 AM CDT, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
510 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0451 AM     TSTM WND GST     5 NW LINCOLN            40.87N 96.74W
05/24/2020  M68 MPH          LANCASTER          NE   PUBLIC

&&
Local storm report, May 24, 5:11 AM CDT, 27 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
511 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0446 AM     TSTM WND GST     LINCOLN                 40.82N 96.69W
05/24/2020  M51 MPH          LANCASTER          NE   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

&&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Omaha, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 1:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Boone, Madison, Platte49 min
May 24, 1:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Knox, Pierce47 min
May 24, 2:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCedar, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Wayne42 min
May 24, 2:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Boone, Butler, Colfax, Cuming, Madison and 3 more38 min
May 24, 3:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCedar, Knox, Pierce, Wayne47 min
May 24, 3:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXButler, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Platte, Saunders and 2 more45 min
May 24, 3:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXBurt, Butler, Colfax, Cuming, Dodge, Saunders and 2 more43 min
May 24, 4:00 AM CDTFlash Flood WatchOAXBoone, Butler, Cass, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson and 8 more39 hr
May 24, 4:16 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOAXButler, Saline, Saunders, Seward29 min
May 24, 4:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXBurt, Dodge, Douglas, Saunders, Thurston, Washington49 min
May 24, 4:35 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOAXLancaster, Saline, Saunders25 min
May 24, 4:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Douglas, Lancaster, Otoe, Sarpy, Saunders and 1 more51 min
May 24, 5:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXBurt, Douglas, Washington33 min
May 24, 5:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Douglas, Lancaster, Otoe, Sarpy, Saunders43 min
May 24, 5:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Otoe, Sarpy43 min
May 24, 6:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Otoe49 min
May 24, 8:58 AM CDTRiver Flood AdvisoryOAXSaline11 hr
May 24, 8:58 AM CDTRiver Flood AdvisoryOAXGage25 hr
May 24, 8:58 AM CDTRiver Flood AdvisoryOAXSaline33 hr
May 24, 8:58 AM CDTRiver Flood AdvisoryOAXSeward25 hr
May 24, 2:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPawnee, Richardson35 min
May 24, 4:47 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryOAXJohnson, Otoe3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2020Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 2020Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2020

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.