Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2026

Mesoscale Discussion 511

April 23, 202622 counties in Iowa; 5 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 23, 2026, 7:41 PM CDT for 22 counties in Iowa; 5 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 2026, 7:41 PM CDT (00:41 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 2026, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe thunderstorm watch 138
All 27 counties

Black Hawk County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Butler County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Polk County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Andrew County, MO, DeKalb County, MO, Gentry County, MO, Harrison County, MO, Worth County, MO

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 29 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:45 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 235 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 2026-04-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 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 2026-04-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -161 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-106 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2615 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-161 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 8:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppanoose, Benton, Cedar, Davis, Henry, Iowa and 15 more91 min
Apr 23, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBenton, Buchanan, Cedar, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque and 12 more3 hr
Apr 23, 9:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Greene and 8 more6 hr
Apr 23, 11:50 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarry, Barton, Cedar, Dade, Jasper, Lawrence and 3 more115 min
Apr 24, 2:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChristian, Douglas, Howell, Laclede, Ozark, Stone and 4 more90 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2026Mesoscale Discussions in Missouri, 2026Every mesoscale discussion 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.