Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 185, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 29, 2025Black Hawk County, Grundy County, Tama County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 29, 2025, 1:23 AM CDT for Black Hawk County, Grundy County, Tama County, Iowa. It was in force for 37 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jul 29, 2025, 1:23 AM CDT (06:23 UTC)
Expired: Jul 29, 2025, 2:00 AM CDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Des Moines, IA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Damage threat: Considerable
Hail: 0.75 in
Wind: 70.0 mph

Counties Black Hawk County, IA, Grundy County, IA, Tama County, IA

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:24 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 28, 10:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 186 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 615 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -256 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1409 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 29, 12:39 AM CDT, 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 12:39 AM CDT, 44 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 28, 10:11 PM CDT, 3 hours 12 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
1011 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-300315-
Emmet-Kossuth-Winnebago-Worth-Palo Alto-Hancock-Cerro Gordo-
Pocahontas-Humboldt-Wright-Franklin-Butler-Bremer-Sac-Calhoun-
Webster-Hamilton-Hardin-Grundy-Black Hawk-Crawford-Carroll-Greene-
Boone-Story-Marshall-Tama-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Polk-Jasper-
Poweshiek-
1011 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Iowa.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

There is a Moderate Risk (Level 4 of 5) of severe weather over
much of the area. The primary threat is damaging wind gusts with
these storms. Heavy rainfall is also possible.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday

Additional thunderstorms are forecast from late Tuesday afternoon
through Wednesday night. The severe thunderstorm and flash
flood threat for later Tuesday and Wednesday will be evaluated in
the coming days.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed tonight.

IAZ070>075-081>086-092>097-300315-
Cass-Adair-Madison-Warren-Marion-Mahaska-Adams-Union-Clarke-Lucas-
Monroe-Wapello-Taylor-Ringgold-Decatur-Wayne-Appanoose-Davis-
1011 PM CDT Mon Jul 28 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Iowa.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

Tonight there is a low risk for severe thunderstorms central and
south-central Iowa. The primary threat is damaging wind gusts with
these storms. Heavy rainfall is also possible.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday

A Heat Advisory is effect on Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday
evening. Additional thunderstorms are forecast from late Tuesday
afternoon through Wednesday night. The severe thunderstorm and
flash flood threat for later Tuesday and Wednesday will be
evaluated in the coming days.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed tonight.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 29, 12:16 AM CDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 29, 12:27 AM CDT, 56 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 29, 12:53 AM CDT, 30 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 29, 1:09 AM CDT, 14 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 29, 1:20 AM CDT, 3 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jul 29, 1:22 AM CDT, 1 minute before

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The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 28, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Destructive damage threat	DMX	Emmet, Kossuth, Palo Alto	76 min
Jul 28, 10:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	DMX	Calhoun, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster	70 min
Jul 28, 10:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Sac, Webster	55 min
Jul 28, 11:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Destructive damage threat	DMX	Cerro Gordo, Emmet, Hancock, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Winnebago and 1 more	73 min
Jul 28, 11:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	DMX	Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Webster, Wright	63 min
Jul 28, 11:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin and 2 more	58 min
Jul 28, 11:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Cerro Gordo, Worth	39 min
Jul 29, 12:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Butler, Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Winnebago, Worth and 1 more	79 min
Jul 29, 12:27 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Hamilton, Hardin, Story	33 min
Jul 29, 12:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Grundy, Hardin	58 min
Jul 29, 12:53 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Grundy, Hardin, Marshall	52 min
Jul 29, 1:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Grundy, Jasper, Marshall, Poweshiek, Tama	28 min
Jul 29, 1:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Jasper, Mahaska, Marshall, Poweshiek, Tama	66 min
Jul 29, 2:54 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Mahaska	36 min
Jul 29, 8:43 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Palo Alto	32 min
Jul 29, 9:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DMX	Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas	34 min
Jul 29, 11:39 AM CDT	River Flood Watch	DMX	Black Hawk	9 hr
Jul 29, 11:39 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	DMX	Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler	5 days
Jul 29, 1:20 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DMX	Humboldt	25 min
Jul 29, 3:08 PM CDT	Flood Watch	DMX	Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Boone, Calhoun and 36 more	23 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2025 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2025

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.