Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 377

July 14, 202119 counties in Iowa; 12 counties in Minnesota; 9 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jul 14, 2021, 8:54 AM CDT for 19 counties in Iowa; 12 counties in Minnesota; 9 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 14, 2021, 8:54 AM CDT (13:54 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 2021, 1:37 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 40 counties

Allamakee County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Butler County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Delaware County, IA, Dubuque County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Howard County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Dodge County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Houston County, MN, Mower County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Rice County, MN, Steele County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Winona County, MN, Buffalo County, WI, Crawford County, WI, Grant County, WI, Jackson County, WI, La Crosse County, WI, Monroe County, WI, Richland County, WI, Trempealeau County, WI, Vernon County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:54 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 9:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXFloyd39 min
Jul 14, 11:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDelaware, Dubuque, Jackson35 min
Jul 14, 12:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNDubuque, Jackson40 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 212 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 2021-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2820 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 2021-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2820 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1084 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

093 
WWUS20 KWNS 141351
SEL7  
SPC WW 141351
IAZ000-MNZ000-WIZ000-142000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 377
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
855 AM CDT Wed Jul 14 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Northeast Iowa
  Southeast Minnesota
  Southwest Wisconsin

* Effective this Wednesday morning and afternoon from 855 AM
  until 300 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...A line of severe thunderstorms will move through the watch
area this morning and early afternoon with a risk for damaging winds
and isolated large hail.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 60
statute miles north and south of a line from 20 miles southwest of
Mason City IA to 55 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 Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

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

...Bunting

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 7:02 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan and 43 more2 hr
Jul 14, 11:45 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones2 hr
Jul 14, 1:40 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAudubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler and 38 more2 hr
Jul 14, 2:35 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAudubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan and 41 more8 hr
Jul 14, 4:17 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBoone, Butler, Calhoun, Franklin, Greene, Grundy and 5 more58 min
Jul 14, 5:42 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones63 min
Jul 14, 5:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAudubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan and 29 more118 min
Jul 14, 6:13 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllamakee, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque and 7 more6 hr
Jul 14, 2:01 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee and 6 more119 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Iowa, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wisconsin, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.