Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 2026

Tornado Warning 39, NWS La Crosse, WI

May 17, 2026Mitchell County, Iowa; Mower County, Minnesota

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2026, 10:13 PM CDT for Mitchell County, Iowa; Mower County, Minnesota. It was in force for 62 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 17, 2026, 10:13 PM CDT (03:13 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2026, 11:15 PM CDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS La Crosse, WI
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.0 in

Counties Mitchell County, IA, Mower County, MN

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 138 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:17 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 17, 6:12 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 168 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1101 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 237 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

618 
WFUS53 KARX 180313
TORARX
IAC131-MNC099-180415-
/O.NEW.KARX.TO.W.0039.260518T0313Z-260518T0415Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
1013 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

The National Weather Service in La Crosse has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  Mitchell County in north central Iowa...
  Southwestern Mower County in southeastern Minnesota...

* Until 1115 PM CDT.

* At 1012 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms capable of producing both
  tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage were located
  along a line extending from near Mansfield to 8 miles north of
  Mason City Municipal Airport to 10 miles south of Clear Lake,
  moving northeast at 60 mph.

  HAZARD...Tornado.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation. This system has a history of 
           producing tornadoes across northcentral and northwest 
           Iowa over the past hour. 

  IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
           shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. 
           Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree 
           damage is likely.

* These dangerous storms will be near...
  St. Ansgar and Lyle around 1035 PM CDT.
  Osage and Stacyville around 1040 PM CDT.
  Riceville around 1055 PM CDT.

Other locations impacted by these tornadic storms include County
Roads A 39 And S 70, Meyer, Toeterville, Rock Creek, Otranto,
Brownville, and County Roads T 54 And A 31.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9255 4330 9256 4321 9302 4350 9303
      4350 9304 4361 9305
TIME...MOT...LOC 0312Z 243DEG 53KT 4351 9361 4328 9339 4298 9345 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

Baumgardt

3 follow-up statements

516 
WWUS53 KARX 180339
SVSARX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
1039 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

IAC131-MNC099-180415-
/O.CON.KARX.TO.W.0039.000000T0000Z-260518T0415Z/
Mitchell IA-Mower MN-
1039 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1115 PM CDT FOR MITCHELL
AND SOUTHWESTERN MOWER COUNTIES...

At 1039 PM CDT, a severe squall line capable of producing both
tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage was located along a
line extending from near London to near Lyle to near Nora Springs,
moving northeast at 60 mph.

HAZARD...Tornado.

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation. These storms have a history of 
         producing tornadoes in the last 30 minutes. 

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
         shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage 
         to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree damage is 
         likely.

These dangerous storms will be near...
  Osage, St. Ansgar, and Stacyville around 1045 PM CDT.
  Riceville around 1100 PM CDT.

Other locations impacted by these tornadic storms include County
Roads A 39 And S 70, Meyer, Toeterville, Rock Creek, Otranto,
Brownville, and County Roads T 54 And A 31.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9255 4330 9256 4321 9302 4350 9303
      4350 9304 4361 9305
TIME...MOT...LOC 0339Z 235DEG 54KT 4360 9306 4345 9295 4321 9297 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

Baumgardt

849 
WWUS53 KARX 180357
SVSARX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
1057 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

IAC131-MNC099-180415-
/O.CON.KARX.TO.W.0039.000000T0000Z-260518T0415Z/
Mitchell IA-Mower MN-
1057 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1115 PM CDT FOR EASTERN
MITCHELL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOWER COUNTIES...

At 1057 PM CDT, a severe squall line capable of producing both
tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage was located near
Riceville, or 12 miles northeast of Osage, moving east at 65 mph.

HAZARD...Tornado.

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
         shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage 
         to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree damage is 
         likely.

This tornadic thunderstorm will remain over mainly rural areas of
eastern Mitchell and south central Mower Counties, including the
following locations... Meyer, Brownville, County Roads T 54 And A 31,
Pioneer State Park, Johnsburg, McIntire, and Little Cedar.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9255 4330 9256 4326 9277 4344 9277
      4355 9278
TIME...MOT...LOC 0357Z 261DEG 57KT 4342 9265 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

$$

Baumgardt

404 
WWUS53 KARX 180407
SVSARX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
1107 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

IAC131-MNC099-180417-
/O.EXP.KARX.TO.W.0039.000000T0000Z-260518T0415Z/
Mitchell IA-Mower MN-
1107 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EASTERN MITCHELL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOWER
COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 1115 PM CDT...

The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area.
Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 100 AM CDT for north central
and northeastern Iowa...and southeastern Minnesota.

&&

LAT...LON 4350 9255 4330 9256 4326 9277 4344 9277
      4355 9278
TIME...MOT...LOC 0407Z 243DEG 53KT 4349 9247 

$$

Baumgardt

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 10:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Floyd, Mitchell	66 min
May 17, 10:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Floyd, Mitchell	51 min
May 17, 10:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Chickasaw, Howard	56 min
May 17, 10:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Chickasaw, Howard	51 min
May 17, 11:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Winneshiek	28 min
May 18, 12:07 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	ARX	Allamakee	38 min
May 17, 10:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Mower	40 min
May 17, 10:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted	58 min
May 17, 11:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Fillmore, Wabasha, Winona	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 2026 Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2026 Every tornado warning in 2026 Tornadoes in 2026

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.