Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1620

August 27, 20216 counties in Iowa

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 27, 2021, 5:30 PM CDT for 6 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 60 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 27, 2021, 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired
Aug 27, 2021, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Tornado watch 465

Counties Allamakee County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Howard County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:34 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 211 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2021-08-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 487 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2021-08-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -9 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
487 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
644 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

607 
ACUS11 KWNS 272230
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 272230 
IAZ000-272330-

Mesoscale Discussion 1620
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0530 PM CDT Fri Aug 27 2021

Areas affected...northeast IA

Concerning...Tornado Watch 465...

Valid 272230Z - 272330Z

The severe weather threat for Tornado Watch 465 continues.

SUMMARY...The severe threat in recently issued tornado watch #465
will likely focus primarily in northeast IA during the next 1-2
hours.  The risk for supercell-related hazards will include hail,
severe gusts, and possibly a tornado.

DISCUSSION...Visible-satellite imagery shows an outflow boundary
situated west-east across far northeast IA into southwest WI. 
Temperatures south of the boundary are in the low-mid 80s with mid
70s dewpoints.  As a result, a very unstable airmass is located over
the upper MS Valley early this evening.  It seems a messy supercell
mode may persist for the next few hours due in part to 1) only weak
forcing but 2) enlargement of the hodograph with a veer-back-veer
wind profile---leading to precipitation seeding near updrafts.  RAP
forecast soundings depict this relative limitation in the wind
profile in the upper levels which is only partly observed by the La
Crosse, WI 88D VAD data.

..Smith.. 08/27/2021

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

ATTN...WFO...ARX...DMX...

LAT...LON   43219323 43479179 43279132 42959145 42849308 42989327
            43219323

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 8:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBuena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Ida, Lyon and 5 more7 hr
Aug 26, 10:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee and 25 more2 hr
Aug 27, 1:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlack Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw and 18 more97 min
Aug 27, 4:01 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Cerro Gordo and 20 more59 min
Aug 27, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllamakee, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton and 12 more6 hr
Aug 27, 6:28 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAudubon, Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie and 6 more92 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.