Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 268, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 4, 2026Palo Alto County, Pocahontas County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 2026, 12:45 PM CDT for Palo Alto County, Pocahontas County, Iowa. It was in force for 30 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: Jul 4, 2026, 12:45 PM CDT (17:45 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 2026, 1:15 PM CDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Hail: 0.75 in
Wind: 60.0 mph

Counties Palo Alto County, IA, Pocahontas County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 153 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:46 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, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 233 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: 944 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 925 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -4 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 4, 6:36 AM CDT, 6 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 6:36 AM CDT, 6 hours 9 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 4, 11:32 AM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 4, 9:57 AM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 4, 10:03 AM CDT, 2 hours 42 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 4, 11:41 AM CDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 4, 12:13 PM CDT, 32 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 4, 12:16 PM CDT, 29 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 4, 12:34 PM CDT, 11 minutes before

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The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 3, 8:01 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Wapello	29 min
Jul 4, 12:41 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Marshall, Story	6 hr
Jul 4, 1:27 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Black Hawk	42 hr
Jul 4, 1:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Polk	29 min
Jul 4, 2:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Polk, Warren	45 min
Jul 4, 2:18 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Jasper, Marshall, Story	4 hr
Jul 4, 2:26 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DMX	Boone, Dallas, Hamilton, Jasper, Polk, Story and 1 more	4 hr
Jul 4, 2:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Warren	49 min
Jul 4, 3:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Mahaska, Poweshiek	56 min
Jul 4, 3:15 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning Considerable damage threat	DMX	Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Sac	6 hr
Jul 4, 3:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Wapello	50 min
Jul 4, 4:17 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Story	24 hr
Jul 4, 4:51 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Story	14 hr
Jul 4, 4:51 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Polk, Story	27 hr
Jul 4, 6:21 AM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	DMX	Boone, Jasper, Marshall, Polk, Story	9 hr
Jul 4, 6:39 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Jasper, Marion, Polk	4 days

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2026 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.