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Storm Events Database
Event Details
| Event | Hail |
| Magnitude | 1.00 in. |
| State | IOWA |
| County/Area | SAC |
| WFO | DMX |
| Begin Date | 05/06/2008 17:45:00 CST-6 |
| Begin Range | 1 |
| Begin Azimuth | N |
| Begin Location | SAC CITY |
| Begin Lat/Lon | 42.44/-95 |
| End Date | 05/06/2008 17:45:00 CST-6 |
| Deaths Direct/Indirect | 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...) |
| Injuries Direct/Indirect | 0/0 |
| Property Damage | 3.00K |
| Crop Damage | 0.00K |
| Episode Narrative | A strong push of warm and unstable air pushed north into Iowa during the day on the 6th. Surface temperatures warmed into the upper 70s to mid 80s across the state, with dew point readings in the 55 to 60 degree range. A cold front moved into the state from the northwest as an upper level short wave lifted northeast across the state during the evening. Most unstable CAPE values were in the 1000-2000 J/kg range by the late afternoon. There was sufficient shear available with the effective shear in the 40 to 50 kt range across the north half of the state. The LCL was quite high, in the 1250 to 1500 meter range. Cape in the -10 to -30 C. layer of the atmosphere had around 200 J/kg of CAPE available. Downdraft CAPE was in the 700 to 900 J/kg range as the soundings indicated an inverted V structure. The freezing level was around 12,000 feet. Thunderstorms fired in a broken line extending from the far northwest corner of Iowa, southwest into Nebraska. The storms became severe quite quickly as they advanced east. Many of the storms produced hail of around one half inch in diameter or so. Several produced hail of three quarters of an inch to one inch in diameter. The hail would have likely been larger if not for the lack of significant CAPE in the -10 to -30 C. layer. As the line evolved, it became solid from north central into west central Iowa. Initially, the northern part of the line took on a bow echo configuration and produced high winds across north central into northeast Iowa. The winds blew over a semi-tractortrailer rig near the 197 mile post on Interstate 35. The bow echo feature continued east into northeast Iowa. As the line moved through Bremer County, high winds blew down road signs and caused damage at the Wal-Mart store there. This feature left an outflow boundary extending east to west across central Iowa. The boundary provided the focal point for additional thunderstorms, which trained across parts of central into northeast Iowa. Farther to the west, many of the storms produced hail and some heavy rainfall. Flooding became a problem with many areas reporting small stream and urban flooding. Flash flooding, as well as areal flooding, became a problem over Wright and Hardin Counties where 3 to 5 inches of rain fell. One of the harder hit areas was in Hardin County at Alden where nearly 5 inches of rain was reported in under three hours. A report of 6.25 inches was received from west of Iowa Falls in Hardin County. This was over a period of six and one half hours. Numerous roads were closed in these two counties with water anywhere from 6 to 24 inches deep running across the roads. In addition, heavy rain fell in the city of Boone in Boone County with water reportedly flowing 6 to 12 inches deep over a number of roads. There were several road closures in the city of Boone. |
| Event Narrative |
All events for this episode:
| Location | County/Zone | St. | Date | Time | T.Z. | Type | Mag | Dth | Inj | PrD | CrD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals: | 0 | 0 | 438.00K | 0.00K | |||||||
| ESTHERVILLE | EMMET CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 15:47 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| GRUVER | EMMET CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 15:52 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| ARMSTRONG | EMMET CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 15:58 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| RUTHVEN | PALO ALTO CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 16:01 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 3.00K | 0.00K |
| LOTTS CREEK | KOSSUTH CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 16:17 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| RAKE | WINNEBAGO CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:05 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| SAC CITY | SAC CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:10 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 3.00K | 0.00K |
| SAC CITY | SAC CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:17 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 3.00K | 0.00K |
| SAC CITY | SAC CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:19 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 3.00K | 0.00K |
| SAC CITY | SAC CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:20 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| JOLLEY | CALHOUN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:24 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.88 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| SHERWOOD | CALHOUN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:35 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.88 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| SAC CITY | SAC CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:45 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 3.00K | 0.00K |
| (MCW)MASON CITY MUNI | CERRO GORDO CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:48 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 57 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K |
| (MCW)MASON CITY MUNI | CERRO GORDO CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:49 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 57 kts. MG | 0 | 0 | 1.00K | 0.00K |
| SOMERS | CALHOUN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 17:54 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.88 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| LATIMER | FRANKLIN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 18:17 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 53 kts. MG | 0 | 0 | 1.00K | 0.00K |
| GENEVA | FRANKLIN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 18:40 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 1.00K | 0.00K |
| IOWA FALLS | HARDIN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 18:45 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K | |
| GENEVA | FRANKLIN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 18:45 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| JEWELL | HAMILTON CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 18:51 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| BOONE | BOONE CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 19:18 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K | |
| BOONE | BOONE CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 19:29 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| WAVERLY | BREMER CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 19:30 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 57 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
| AMES | STORY CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 19:42 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| DEWAR | BLACK HAWK CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 19:53 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| ONTARIO | STORY CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 20:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K | |
| SHELDAHL | BOONE CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 20:14 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K | |
| CLARION ARPT | WRIGHT CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 23:30 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K | |
| IOWA FALLS MUNI ARPT | HARDIN CO. | IA | 05/06/2008 | 23:34 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K | |
| IOWA FALLS | HARDIN CO. | IA | 05/07/2008 | 01:30 | CST-6 | Flood | 0 | 0 | 75.00K | 0.00K | |
| IOWA FALLS | HARDIN CO. | IA | 05/07/2008 | 05:28 | CST-6 | Flood | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K | |
| IOWA FALLS | HARDIN CO. | IA | 05/07/2008 | 05:36 | CST-6 | Flood | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K | |
| Totals: | 0 | 0 | 438.00K | 0.00K |
