This page provides a download interface to IEM processed metadata/geometries associated with National Weather Service VTEC-enabled watch, warning, and advisory events. You can download this information on-demand in a zip-file (containing a shapefile + CSV), KML, or Microsoft Excel format.
If you are looking for a real-time source of warning shapefiles, you can find that here.
Download Limit: If you do not limit the state or WFO output,
you are limited to downloading 1 year of data at a time. The reason being
to keep the requests from timing out as the response content is delivered on
the fly.
Related Services
Custom Download
Backend Documentation for scripting against this service.
Shapefile DBF Schema
A discussion of the schema can be found on the FAQ Page for this dataset.
Pre-generated Zip Files
These files are same as you could download from the form on the left, just you don't have to wait so long! A script runs at around 2 AM Central Time each day to dump the current year's data. The date stamps with each file denote when they were generated.
| Year | All | Limit Tor,Svr,Mar,FF | Limit Storm Based Tor,Svr,Mar,FF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Zip (6.2 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (6.2 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1987 | Zip (5.16 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.16 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1988 | Zip (5.1 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.1 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1989 | Zip (7.57 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (7.57 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1990 | Zip (9.53 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (9.53 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1991 | Zip (9.23 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (9.23 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1992 | Zip (9.17 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (9.17 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1993 | Zip (10.13 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (10.13 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1994 | Zip (11.13 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (11.13 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1995 | Zip (16.08 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (16.08 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1996 | Zip (18.26 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (18.26 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1997 | Zip (17.88 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (17.88 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1998 | Zip (23.43 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (23.43 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 1999 | Zip (19.34 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (19.34 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 2000 | Zip (19.06 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (19.06 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 2001 | Zip (19.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (19.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | N/A |
| 2002 | Zip (26.52 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (26.52 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (2.39 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2003 | Zip (28.12 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (28.12 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (3.7 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2004 | Zip (29.49 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (29.49 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (4.18 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2005 | Zip (88.79 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (25.21 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (4.27 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2006 | Zip (179.33 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (29.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.17 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2007 | Zip (193.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (26.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (4.34 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2008 | Zip (277.36 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (48.01 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (6.62 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2009 | Zip (280.11 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (42.09 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.44 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2010 | Zip (297.04 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (39.82 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.26 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2011 | Zip (307.25 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (53.74 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (6.64 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2012 | Zip (282.84 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (41.84 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.31 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2013 | Zip (265.98 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (36.41 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (4.76 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2014 | Zip (269.24 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (33.66 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (4.52 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2015 | Zip (264.37 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (38.51 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.26 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2016 | Zip (248.22 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (37.75 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.03 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2017 | Zip (255.16 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (38.95 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.23 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2018 | Zip (266.85 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (36.21 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2019 | Zip (271.98 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (42.64 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.82 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2020 | Zip (259.78 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (39.62 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.02 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2021 | Zip (284.21 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (39.01 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.23 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2022 | Zip (313.79 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (41.29 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (5.42 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2023 | Zip (326.82 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (47.34 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (6.49 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2024 | Zip (335.01 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (45.31 MB, 09 May 2025) | Zip (6.19 MB, 09 May 2025) |
| 2025 | Zip (329.41 MB, 31 Dec 2025) | Zip (48.03 MB, 31 Dec 2025) | Zip (5.93 MB, 31 Dec 2025) |
| 2026 | Zip (152.55 MB, 12 Jun 2026) | Zip (17.17 MB, 12 Jun 2026) | Zip (2.31 MB, 12 Jun 2026) |
Service Changes
24 Apr 2026:
KML export was rewritten and does attempt to do county/zone based
warnings as well. The description data is a bit different now as
well. Can certainly iterate on functionality!
10 Apr 2024: Polygons associated with CANcel VTEC
events when the event is still active for other areas have been culled from
the database and thus this portal. These were not providing any value and
were confusing users.
12 Mar 2019: Added
UPDATED column to the
dataset providing the timestamp of the most recent NWS Text Product for
the event.
Archive Status
| Dataset Component | Start Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tornado Severe T'storm Flash Flood Special Marine |
1 Jan 2002 (Polygons) 1 Jan 1986 (Counties) |
Only the initial polygon is used. Polygon updates in the SVS statements are ignored. The VTEC attributes didn't appear until they became operational. |
| All VTEC watch/warn | 12 Nov 2005 | Products other than Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. |
| SVR,TOR Watch by County | 12 Nov 2005 |
Publications Citing IEM Data (View All)
These are the most recent 10 publications that have cited the usage of data from this page. This list is not exhaustive, so please let us know if you have a publication that should be added.
- Chladny, E. 2026, Short-Range Forecasting of Flash Flood Warnings With Deep Learning. Masters Thesis. University of Oklahoma. https://www.proquest.com/docview/3348436375
- Farr, K. IMPROVING HEAT GOVERNANCE: ASSESSING HEAT-HEALTH DISPARITIES AND POLICY RESPONSES IN THE US SOUTHEAST. PhD Thesis, UNC Chapel Hill. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/4m90fb69j
- Lindley, T., T. Curl, et al. 2026, Integrated Multi-agency National Weather Service Operations During the 14 March 2025 Oklahoma Fire Disaster. BAMS. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-25-0136.1
- Benoit III, E., J. Trepanier, et al. 2026, Developing a categorical climate risk assessment scale for archival institutions: a GIS-based pilot study from the PROTECCT-GLAM project. The Journal of the Archives and Records Association https://doi.org/10.1080/23257962.2026.2652089
- Bartlett, S., J. Cordeira, et al. 2026, Atmospheric Rivers Are a Frequent Source of Moisture Transport in Severe Convective Storm Environments. GRL. 53. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL120738
- Hoekstra, S., J. Vickery, et al. 2026, Igniting Insight: Evaluating NWS Red Flag Warnings within a Fire Partner Decision-Making Context. Bulletin of the AMS. Vol 147, Iss 4 https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-25-0036.1
- Saki, S., G. Sofia, et al. 2026, A spatiotemporally harmonized dataset of utilityreported power outages and NWS VTEC weather warnings for the contiguous United States (2015-2024). https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012531/v1
- Tang, J. and H. McMillan. 2026, The Role of Narrow Cold Frontal Rainbands on Flooding in Urban Southern California. https://doi.org/10.31223/X5C487
- Black-Ingersoll, F, M. Willis, et al. 2026, Climate resilience adaptation and psychiatric emergency services utilization during extreme heat in Boston, MA: a difference-in-differences analysis. Environment International. Volume 207 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.110007
- Bock, Y., B. Chandna, et al. 2025, Real-Time Flash-Flood Prediction Using GNSS Water Vapor Observations and Deep Learning. https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.176677195.53603556/v1