Tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service were delayed during Saturday's deadly storms across Iowa, according to the Washington Post.
- Some of them didn't reach Iowans for as long as 7 minutes after they were disseminated.
Why it matters: Every minute counts, especially in a violent storm like the one last weekend, which killed seven people.
State of play: Des Moines NWS staff quickly issued more than a dozen tornado warnings Saturday, but a "technical delay" experienced by NWS offices nationwide led to "2-7 minute" delays for some transmissions.
- Even so, lead times still averaged around 20 minutes, Susan Buchanan, NWS' director of public affairs, told the newspaper.
The Des Moines office issued the first tornado warning at 3:22pm. It was delayed by 2 minutes and 47 seconds.
- At 4:34pm, Des Moines sent out a warning about the large and deadly Winterset tornado. It was delayed by 6 minutes.
The big picture: Significant technical issues have "plagued" the National Weather Service in recent years, Wapo reports.
Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Des Moines.
More Des Moines stories
No stories could be found
Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Des Moines.