Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2026
Mesoscale Discussion 730
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 15, 2026, 7:29 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 2 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 15, 2026, 7:29 PM CDT (00:29 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 2026, 9:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Concerning
- Severe thunderstorm watch 205
All 102 counties
Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Allamakee County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Black Hawk County, IA, Boone County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Buchanan County, IA, Buena Vista County, IA, Butler County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Cherokee County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Clay County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, Emmet County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Hancock County, IA, Hardin County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Howard County, IA, Humboldt County, IA, Ida County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Kossuth County, IA, Lyon County, IA, Madison County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Mills County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA, Page County, IA, Palo Alto County, IA, Plymouth County, IA, Pocahontas County, IA, Polk County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Sac County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Sioux County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Webster County, IA, Winnebago County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Woodbury County, IA, Worth County, IA, Wright County, IA, Dodge County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Houston County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Martin County, MN, Mower County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Steele County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Winona County, MN, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Dakota County, NE, Dixon County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Stanton County, NE, Thurston County, NE, Washington County, NE, Wayne County, NE, Clay County, SD, Union County, SD
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:30 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 watches that followed
Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.
The nearest sounding before it
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 177 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 798 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -87 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2723 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 102 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 147 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted.
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</html>SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 9:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and 15 more | 113 min |
| May 15, 10:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque and 5 more | 4 hr |
| May 15, 10:53 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Adams, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer and 45 more | 2 hr |
| May 16, 3:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Fremont, Montgomery, Page and 3 more | 85 min |
| May 16, 4:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Cass, Clarke, Decatur and 11 more | 6 hr |
| May 16, 5:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Pottawattamie | 9 hr |
| May 16, 6:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Montgomery, Ringgold and 3 more | 89 min |
| May 16, 2:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock, Perkins | 84 min |
| May 16, 4:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Arthur, Chase, Cheyenne, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 16, 4:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Buffalo, Butler, Cass, Clay, Colfax and 37 more | 3 hr |
Nearby
Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2026Mesoscale Discussions in Nebraska, 2026Mesoscale Discussions in Minnesota, 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.