Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena - CIG

Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena
Time Path Path Number of Estimated May 1995
Local/ Length Width Persons Damage
Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm
tornado touched down in Ceder County and was on the ground for a few miles. This tornado destroyed several buildings ni
Mechanicsville shortly before it lifted. Damage was also reported with some of the weaker tornadoes in Scott County as the
population density is significantly higher there than in many other areas of the state. A gas pump was destroyed north of
Eldridge. Damage was also reported between Lock and Dam 14 and Le Clair. Reports in the area north of Interstate 80 along
the tornado paths indicated at least 8 to 10 houses destroyed and several others with serious damage. A number of farm
outbuildings were either destroyed or damaged as well. Much of the damage was caused by the Stockton tornado and the tornado
near Mechanicsville. In Scott County, officials placed damage estimates across the county at $3.1 million. There was also
livestock loss at many farms. On one for example, six hogs were crushed and three others needed to be put asleep. Farthe r
northwest along the line, there were several reports of funnel clouds over Calhoun and Pocahontas Counties. These funnel cloud
reports were in addition to the numerous reports over east-central Iowa. A house was struck by lightning in Pocahontas. The
storms did not produce a great deal in the way of wind and large hail. Toward the end of the event in Iowa, considerable wind
damage was reported in Jones County. Twelve to thirteen farmsteads reported significant wind damage over the central and
northeast part of the county. On one farmstead south of Amber, a barn was flattened. The young girl was raising piglets and
feared for her three little pigs. It was with amazement she discovered they had survived the barn collapse. High winds in Linn
County blew apart a 300 foot steel building west of Springville. One storm produced high winds north of De Witt, removing
the roof off of a barn there. Though most of the storms did produce pea- to marble size-hail, few contained the larger hail. Spotty
reports of hail up to golf ball-size were received across east-central Iowa. Some of the more significant hail was just northwest
of Muscatine, where golf ball-size hail covered the ground. The largest hail occurred in the area north of Bellevue. A report of
baseball size-hail was received from two miles north of Bellevue. Wind damage occurred in Pocahontas as the storm the
produced the funnel clouds moved across the city. A few of the storms over east-central Iowa produced high winds. Winds were
recorded at 59 mph winds at the ASOS reporting station at Davenport, while 63 mph winds were recorded in downtown Cedar
Rapids. Winds struck Jones County a short time later with a report of five mobile homes destroyed in Anamosa. The othe r
problem with the system was the heavy rainfall. Soil conditions were very saturated over the state. A few areas received
significant rainfall in spite of the fact that the dry slot had already moved over Iowa. Rainfall of two to four inches or more fell
over much of Green County, resulting in flash flooding. U.S. Highway 30 was under water for about two hours. Flash flooding
also occurred in the metro Des Moines Area. Rainfallof one to two and one-half inches occurred over Polk and northern Warren
Counties. Many roads in the metro Des Moines area flooded. Some flash flooding was reported across all of Polk and Warren
Counties. Flash flooding also occurred over eastern Iowa in Linn, Jones, and eastern Dubuque Counties as heavy rainfall soaked
already saturated ground. Damage was relatively minor in spite of the large area affected.
Lee County
4 N New Boston 13 0955CST 0 0 2K 0 Hail (0.75)
A mesoscale convective system moved across northern Missouri during the night of the 12th and early morning of the 13th. The
north edge of the storms clipped extreme southeast Iowa during the mid morning hours. Dime-size hail was reported north of
New Boston as the storms passed.
Wright County
8 NE Goldfield 13 1255CST 0 0 10K 0 Hail (2.00)
7 N Goldfield 13 1258CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (1.00)
Hancock County
Klemme 13 1307CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (1.00)
1 SE Klemme 13 1312CST 0 0 10K 0 Hail (1.75)
Cerro Gordo County
3 S Ventura 13 1326CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (1.00)
1 W Mason City 13 1340CST 0 0 0 0 Funnel Cloud
Wright County
Dows 13 1345CST 0 0 75K 0 Hail (1.75)
Franklin County
Alexander 13 1357CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (1.00)
Van Buren County
Farmington 13 1435CST 0 0 2K 0 Hail (0.80)
Lee County
Donnellson 13 1454CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (0.88)
Emmet County
Estherville Airport 13 1600CST 0 0 1K 0 Thunderstorm Winds (G53)
Hamilton County
5 W Kamrar 13 1601CST 0 0 10K 0 Hail (1.75)
IOWA, Central Cont'd
Franklin County
2 E Dows 13 1601CST 0 0 10K 0 Hail (1.75)
Emmet County
Estherville Airport 13 1612CST 0 0 1K 0 Thunderstorm Winds (G52)
Franklin County
3 E Chapin 13 1615CST 0 0 1K 0 Hail (0.75)
Butler County
1 S Greene 13 1635CST 0 0 1K 0 Hail (0.75)
Floyd County
5 SE Marblerock 13 1640CST 0 0 2K 0 Hail (0.75)
Chickasaw County
2 S Ionia 13 1645CST 0 0 2K 0 Hail (0.75)
An intense storm system moved out of the southwest United States northeast across the plains. The center of the surface low
tracked across far northwest Iowa into southern Minnesota by the afternoon of the 14th. The dry slot moved north ahead of the
low and had punched into Iowa by sunrise on the 13th. The combination of cooling aloft and the afternoon heating destabilized
the atmosphere. Thunderstorms erupted during the afternoon along the nose of the dry slot from northwest Iowa across the
-1 2 -2
eastern counties. Afternoon CAPE values were in the 3500 J-kg range with helicity between 400-650 m-s around the time
the storms developed. The main severe event with these storms was hail. There were numerous reports of hail in the one to two
inch diameter range. This was especially true over the northern Iowa counties closer to the upper level low pressure system. Golf
ball-size hail caused considerable damage to the greens at a golf course in Dows. Most of the hail over the eastern counties was
around an inch or less in diameter. Just about all of the storms
produced hail of at least pea- to marble-size, along with winds gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range. There was one funnel cloud
reported over northern Iowa. The funnel cloud occurred west of Mason City, in Cerro Gordo County.
Lee County 16 1200CST-
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