A pattern change is in the works by early next week that could bring chances of rain to the state at that time. It’s still too early to determine how much rain will fall from this event as the computer models are still all over the map on this one, but the current pattern of …
Category: Historical Weather
A Wrinkle in the Plan
The string of nice days that is expected to last through the weekend may have a small wrinkle in it later tonight into early tomorrow morning. A few showers and thunderstorms are possible mainly west of Interstate 35. They will be isolated and will not be severe. Rainfall from any of these showers and storms …
Historical WX: The Tornadoes at Algona and Manson
Tornadoes in the midwest mainly come from the southwest and move toward the northeast, but at least 1/3 of them move from northwest to the southeast. This was the case on June 28, 1979, when 27 tornadoes dropped out of the sky and moved mainly in a northwest to southeast pattern. The first tornado of …
One Year Later: The Flood of 2008 Part 3
Recovery has been slow and long in the year since the flood water receded. Numerous houses are being bulldozed and many residents are waiting for buyouts. Damage has been estimated over 1 Billion Dollars in Iowa, making it one of the worst disasters in the United States. Many businesses have reopened in the flood damaged …
One Year Later: The Flood of 2008 Part 2
The rivers are embeded in memory, Cedar, Wapsipinicon, Iowa, Des Moines, Mississippi, Turkey, Upper Iowa. They are along with many others were the ones that flooded to in some cases unbelieveable records. For only the second time ever, the Coralville Reservoir went over the emergency dam, (the other time was 1993) and crested just over …
One Year Later: The Flood of 2008 Part 1
No words can describe what occurred across the state of Iowa a year ago. Rivers were cresting or within a week of cresting (some at record levels) across the state. At Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River crested 11 feet above the previous record (31.2 feet) on June 13th. The river flowed into neighborhoods that thought …
Historical WX: The Camanche Tornado of 1860.
The civil war was about to begin only months later. It was quiet hot summertime Sunday afternoon on the banks of the Mississippi River in the little town of Camanache, a town that had just be founded only a few years prior. People were milling around with their activities until they noticed darkening skies to …
Historical WX: Barneveld WI F5 (25 years later)
A complex of thunderstorms had moved across the northern part of the state early on the morning of June 7th 1984. By afternoon, the atmosphere had bounced back, temperatures had risen into the 70s and 80s. Dewpoints were approaching or exceeding 70. The first round of thunderstorms developed in northwest Iowa producing numerous tornadoes throughout …
One Year Later
One year ago on Sunday May 25th, the EF5 tornado struck the towns of Parkersburg and New Hartford in Butler County. This was the first F5/EF5 tornado since the Jordan tornado back on June 13th 1976. This tornado began around 4:45 pm south of Aplington and began moving slowly ENE toward Parkersburg. It hit the …
Historical WX: May Tornadoes
Several Historic tornadoes occurred in the state of Iowa in the month of May. The EF5 in Parkersburg and New Hartford on the 25th in 2008. The F5’s in Charles City and Oelwein on the 15th in 1968. The F3 Washington Tornado on the 15th 1998. The F3 tornado that skirted Palo (which was devestated …