Storm Events Database

Storm Events Database

Event Details

Event Hail
Magnitude 0.88 in.
State IOWA
County/Area EMMET
WFO DMX
Begin Date 07/09/2009 20:53:00 CST-6
Begin Range 1
Begin Azimuth E
Begin Location WELLINGFORD
Begin Lat/Lon 43.32/-94.79
End Date 07/09/2009 20:53:00 CST-6
Deaths Direct/Indirect 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...)
Injuries Direct/Indirect 0/0
Property Damage 0.00K
Crop Damage 10.00K
Episode Narrative Thunderstorms formed over northwest Iowa near an old outflow boundary left behind from the morning convection. Farther south, the airmass was capped with 700 mb temperatures warming to +15 C on the Omaha, NE sounding at 0000 UTC. The atmosphere was slow to recover after the morning convection, but did destabilize to where there was 1000 to 2000 J/kg of CAPE and the lifted indices falling to -4 to -7 C. Downdraft CAPE was not all that impressive, in the 500 to 800 J/kg range. The effective shear in the area was 30 to 45 kts with CAPE in the -10 to -30 C. layer of the atmosphere around 300 J/kg. Thunderstorms formed over southeast South Dakota and moved into northwest Iowa during the evening. The storms were quite strong and produced very large hail to the west of the DMX CWA. They weakened as they moved into a less favorable environment in the DMX CWA. The freezing level was quite high at nearly 15,000 feet, making it difficult for large hail production from the weakening storms. Several locations in Emmet County reported dime to nickel size hail with the storms. In Kossuth County, the storms intensified some and produced quarter size hail. Intense rainfall occurred with some of the storms. In Estherville for example, about 2.5 inches of rain fell in about one and one half hours. Deep moisture was in place in the atmosphere with 1.7 inches of precipitable water available. Thunderstorms continued to develop across northern Iowa into the early morning hours. The hail event transitioned into more of a wind event after midnight. Winds of 60 MPH plus hit the Waterloo area resulting in considerable tree limb damage. A semi-tractor trailer was overturned just northwest of Waterloo by the high winds. Power outages were widespread across Black Hawk County. Shortly after the event it was reported that nearly 20% of Black Hawk County was without power due to the wind damage. Power poles were on fire in Waterloo. Significant damage occurred in the Cedar Falls area as well. At least 350 trees were damaged in the city of Cedar Falls. One hundred of those were on the University of Northern Iowa campus. High winds near 100 MPH toppled a radio station tower. Damage around the city was extensive with numerous trees toppled, falling onto houses and cars. High winds damaged a garage in Cedar Falls. In addition, high winds caused considerable damage around town with 9000 homes without power at one point in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Media reports indicated that the damage totals in the Waterloo/Ceder Falls areas exceeded $5 million. Fortunately there were no injuries reported. In addition to the property damage, wind speeds were high enough to cause extensive crop damage at several locations. By mid August, a Federal Disaster Declaration was made for Black Hawk County due to the extensive wind damage in the county.
Event Narrative Winds also reported as gusting to 40 MPH with heavy rain.


All events for this episode:

Location County/Zone St. Date Time T.Z. Type Mag Dth Inj PrD CrD
Totals: 0 0 2.043M 330.00K
WALLINGFORD EMMET CO. IA 07/09/2009 20:02 CST-6 Hail 0.88 in. 0 0 0.00K 5.00K
WALLINGFORD EMMET CO. IA 07/09/2009 20:48 CST-6 Hail 0.88 in. 0 0 0.00K 5.00K
ESTHERVILLE EMMET CO. IA 07/09/2009 20:53 CST-6 Hail 0.88 in. 0 0 0.00K 5.00K
WELLINGFORD EMMET CO. IA 07/09/2009 20:53 CST-6 Hail 0.88 in. 0 0 0.00K 10.00K
SWEA CITY KOSSUTH CO. IA 07/09/2009 22:04 CST-6 Hail 1.00 in. 0 0 5.00K 20.00K
SWEA CITY KOSSUTH CO. IA 07/09/2009 22:12 CST-6 Hail 1.00 in. 0 0 3.00K 10.00K
MANLY WORTH CO. IA 07/10/2009 00:20 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 57 kts. EG 0 0 25.00K 50.00K
MANLY WORTH CO. IA 07/10/2009 00:40 CST-6 Heavy Rain 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
WAVERLY BREMER CO. IA 07/10/2009 01:55 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 65 kts. EG 0 0 50.00K 200.00K
SUMNER BREMER CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:00 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 10.00K 0.00K
ALLISON BUTLER CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:00 CST-6 Heavy Rain 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
SUMNER BREMER CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:00 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 5.00K 25.00K
NEW HARTFORD BUTLER CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:30 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 10.00K 0.00K
(ALO)WATERLOO MUNI A BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:40 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 57 kts. EG 0 0 500.00K 0.00K
(ALO)WATERLOO MUNI A BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:42 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 70 kts. EG 0 0 250.00K 0.00K
CEDAR FALLS BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:43 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 91 kts. EG 0 0 750.00K 0.00K
CEDAR CITY BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:44 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 10.00K 0.00K
CEDAR FALLS BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:44 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 10.00K 0.00K
(ALO)WATERLOO MUNI A BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:45 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 77 kts. EG 0 0 250.00K 0.00K
(ALO)WATERLOO MUNI A BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:45 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 58 kts. MG 0 0 25.00K 0.00K
CEDAR FALLS BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:45 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 25.00K 0.00K
CEDAR CITY BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:45 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 25.00K 0.00K
NORTH CEDAR BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:46 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 15.00K 0.00K
(ALO)WATERLOO MUNI A BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:50 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 50.00K 0.00K
WATERLOO RANCH ARPT BLACK HAWK CO. IA 07/10/2009 02:55 CST-6 Thunderstorm Wind 52 kts. EG 0 0 25.00K 0.00K
DENVER BREMER CO. IA 07/10/2009 03:00 CST-6 Heavy Rain 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
MONTEZUMA POWESHIEK CO. IA 07/10/2009 04:00 CST-6 Heavy Rain 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
Totals: 0 0 2.043M 330.00K