Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 321, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 13, 2026, 5:51 AM CDT for 6 counties in Iowa. It was in force for 39 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 13, 2026, 5:51 AM CDT (10:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 13, 2026, 6:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 0.75 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
Counties Boone County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Polk County, IA
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:53 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 1:31 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
| Aug 13, 5:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 175 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2691 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -151 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1336 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 64 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.5
The text
As transmitted.
751
WUUS53 KDMX 131051
SVRDMX
IAC015-027-049-073-077-153-131130-
/O.NEW.KDMX.SV.W.0321.260813T1051Z-260813T1130Z/
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
551 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
The National Weather Service in Des Moines has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
Northwestern Polk County in central Iowa...
Greene County in west central Iowa...
Guthrie County in west central Iowa...
Boone County in central Iowa...
Southeastern Carroll County in west central Iowa...
Dallas County in central Iowa...
* Until 630 AM CDT.
* At 551 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line
extending from 4 miles north of Carroll to 5 miles south of
Jefferson to near Adair, moving east at 55 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
* Locations impacted include...
West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Boone, Grimes, Perry,
Jefferson, Adel, Guthrie Center, Madrid, Ogden, Dallas Center,
Granger, Panora, De Soto, Woodward, Van Meter, Lake Panorama, and
Big Creek Lake.
This includes Interstate 80 between mile markers 111 and 120.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4191 9464 4205 9467 4219 9371 4193 9370
4152 9383 4158 9470 4160 9470 4160 9471
TIME...MOT...LOC 1051Z 265DEG 49KT 4213 9488 4193 9438 4155 9466
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Hahn2 follow-up statements
528
WWUS53 KDMX 131106
SVSDMX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
606 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
IAC027-131115-
/O.CAN.KDMX.SV.W.0321.000000T0000Z-260813T1130Z/
Carroll IA-
606 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN CARROLL COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
The storms which prompted the warning have moved out of the warned
area. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 800 AM CDT for
west central Iowa. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch also remains in effect
until 1100 AM CDT for central Iowa.
LAT...LON 4187 9439 4206 9458 4219 9371 4193 9370
4152 9383 4164 9452
TIME...MOT...LOC 1105Z 265DEG 49KT 4214 9466 4194 9416 4156 9444
$$
IAC015-049-073-077-153-131130-
/O.CON.KDMX.SV.W.0321.000000T0000Z-260813T1130Z/
Polk IA-Greene IA-Guthrie IA-Boone IA-Dallas IA-
606 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 AM CDT
FOR NORTHWESTERN POLK...SOUTHERN GREENE...NORTHEASTERN GUTHRIE...
BOONE AND DALLAS COUNTIES...
At 605 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line
extending from near Hobbs County Park to near Rippey to near Menlo,
moving east at 55 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
Locations impacted include...
West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Boone, Grimes, Perry,
Jefferson, Adel, Guthrie Center, Madrid, Ogden, Dallas Center,
Granger, Panora, Woodward, Lake Panorama, Big Creek Lake, Boone
Speedway, and Saylorville Lake.
This includes Interstate 80 between mile markers 114 and 120.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4187 9439 4206 9458 4219 9371 4193 9370
4152 9383 4164 9452
TIME...MOT...LOC 1105Z 265DEG 49KT 4214 9466 4194 9416 4156 9444
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Hahn651
WWUS53 KDMX 131118
SVSDMX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
618 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
IAC073-131127-
/O.CAN.KDMX.SV.W.0321.000000T0000Z-260813T1130Z/
Greene IA-
618 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHERN GREENE COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
The storms which prompted the warning have moved out of the warned
area. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 800 AM CDT for
west central Iowa. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch also remains in effect
until 1100 AM CDT for central Iowa.
LAT...LON 4187 9415 4209 9416 4219 9371 4193 9370
4152 9383 4160 9427
TIME...MOT...LOC 1117Z 265DEG 49KT 4215 9447 4195 9397 4157 9425
$$
IAC015-049-077-153-131130-
/O.CON.KDMX.SV.W.0321.000000T0000Z-260813T1130Z/
Polk IA-Guthrie IA-Boone IA-Dallas IA-
618 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 AM CDT
FOR NORTHWESTERN POLK...SOUTHEASTERN GUTHRIE...BOONE AND DALLAS
COUNTIES...
At 617 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line
extending from Churdan to 5 miles southwest of Ledges State Park to
Diamondhead Lake, moving east at 55 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
Locations impacted include...
West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Waukee, Boone, Grimes, Perry,
Adel, Madrid, Ogden, Dallas Center, Granger, Woodward, Big Creek
Lake, Boone Speedway, Saylorville Lake, Redfield, Minburn, Bouton,
and Luther.
This includes Interstate 80 between mile markers 114 and 120.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4187 9415 4209 9416 4219 9371 4193 9370
4152 9383 4160 9427
TIME...MOT...LOC 1117Z 265DEG 49KT 4215 9447 4195 9397 4157 9425
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
HahnWhat 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 Aug 13, 3:24 AM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Early morning thunderstorms, some severe, are expected this morning, then scattered thunderstorm chances last through this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds are the primary threat with isolated large hail, locally heavy rain, and a tornado or two also possible this morning.
- Additional thunderstorms are possible overnight and early Friday morning with some amount of uncertainty due to the evolution of this morning's storms. These storms could be severe with pockets of heavy rain as well.
- The pattern remains active with storms chances through the weekend and early next week.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 3:24 AM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Des Moines IA 324 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Early morning thunderstorms, some severe, are expected this morning, then scattered thunderstorm chances last through this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds are the primary threat with isolated large hail, locally heavy rain, and a tornado or two also possible this morning. - Additional thunderstorms are possible overnight and early Friday morning with some amount of uncertainty due to the evolution of this morning's storms. These storms could be severe with pockets of heavy rain as well. - The pattern remains active with storms chances through the weekend and early next week. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... Issued at 302 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026 Thunderstorms are expected yet again this morning, once again with severe potential. Compared to the past several nights, this looks like the 'best' setup for severe thunderstorms across western and central Iowa. Storms have formed driven by pronounced shortwave energy that has been notably lacking the past several mornings and are making their way east across Nebraska. Mesoanalysis suggests a strong cape gradient across the state which the line which the line will ride on. At the same time, there is ample shear across the state. One of the failure modes for previous nights would be the low level jet (LLJ) being farther to the south than guidance suggested. Given the better synoptic forcing, there is less reliance on the LLJ for this round of storms. There are still some questions about the strength of the MCS as it moves across the state. Radar trends show new updrafts forming in front of the main MCS and the 05z HRRR shows a 'one-two punch' with these updrafts growing upscale quickly before being overrun by the main MCS. If the updrafts out ahead do form into another line, this will lessen the blow of the MCS as it moves into the area and gets overrun. However, if these updrafts prove to be transient and we only see the main MCS, the potential ceiling is much higher in terms of our severe weather threat. Damaging winds are the primary threat once again, as with isolated instances of large hail and locally heavy rainfall, especially over any built up cities or towns. There is also a low QLCS tornado potential, though there is high uncertainty on the location of where the QLCS tornado threat is highest and this is further complicated by the potential for two lines. Should this MCS take a classic bowing shape, the northern side of the bow would be favored for QLCS spinups given the orientation of bulk shear vectors relative to the MCS itself. Otherwise, the threat will remain lower pending storm interactions. As for the heavy rainfall threat, this line should be fairly progressive through the morning hours. Locally heavy rainfall is still possible and flash flooding would become a concern over cities and towns where drainage is not as good. Once the MCS clears our area which looks to be around the early afternoon hours, most areas should remain dry, although some guidance hints at lingering showers and storms in north central Iowa on the warm air advection wing, which leads us into tonight. Guidance is still rather split on how everything is handled Thursday night into Friday. Compared to previous runs, guidance is starting to trend later with with warm air advection precipitation. Some guidance suggests more robust convection earlier on, while other solutions are more showery through part of the night. A lot of this hinges on what our MCS does with the boundary currently analyzed across Missouri. There is a solution where the outflow from this morning's MCS will counteract that boundary moving north into Iowa, which would have further implications on convection overnight. If the boundary remains farther to the south, anything that forms over Iowa would be more stable and the severe threat would be rather low. There are other solutions where the boundary could make it into Iowa and, paired with better forcing, some level of severe potential would exist. We are expecting showers and storms even if they are not severe and rain amounts could start to add up, making flash flooding a concern. See the HYDROLOGY section for a few more details. Following this warm air advection today, highs will once again poke up a bit - into the mid to upper 80s across southern and central Iowa (pending cloud cover clearing) with the mid to upper 70s farther north where scattered precipitation is expected throughout the day. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 142 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026 Overnight convection lingers into Friday morning with continued hydro concerns into the day. The pattern remains active through the weekend and upcoming week as wave continue to ride across the thermal ridge in this "ring of fire" set up. Repeated rounds of convection will rely on earlier rounds for both placement and strength. A few lulls in convection are possible next week, but timing out which days this may occur is difficult at this time range. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 1133 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026 Primarily VFR conditions prevail this evening, although sporadic MVFR ceilings have occurred with patchy stratus. These conditions will generally persist through the morning, although a shallow fog may also develop at times. As we get closer to day break, there is high confidence that a thunderstorm complex will pass through the area, potentially impacting all sites. All sites may be impacted, but KDSM has the highest confidence with an arrival around 12z for that terminal. Strong winds and heavy rain may accompany the main line of storms. The rest of the sites remain on the fringes, but will likely see rain or storms as well. Low clouds then follow this system, keeping at least MVFR conditions over Iowa through the day Thursday. More scattered showers and storms are possible Thursday afternoon. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 302 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026 Pwats of 1.5 to 2" today become largely over 2" on Friday, peaking near 2.5" by Friday evening. These will be paired with warm cloud depths, several rounds of rain, and the potential for training storms, and 1-2" per hour rain rates or more with thunderstorms. Although there remains some uncertainty with the corridor of highest rain amounts today through Friday, west central Iowa in particular has the potential to see some excessive rainfall where rainfall amounts may start to reach towards 3-5" or more. Similar rain amounts may start to add up through portions of central and then east central Iowa into Friday morning and then evening with subsequent rounds of rain and many models are hinting at some localized amounts even higher. A Flood Watch for Flash Flooding was hoisted that may have a wider coverage area than needed, but with some lingering uncertainty in the exact placement of highest rain amounts, wanted to make sure the watch covered the potential different threat areas which range from southern to central Iowa to central to north central Iowa. Central Iowa does appear the most likely regardless from around the I-80 to Highway 20 corridors. The main concerns with the excessive rain amounts are flash flooding, especially in urban and poor drainage areas, though some rises on area rivers and streams is likely. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through Friday afternoon for IAZ023>028-033>039- 044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-097. && SHORT TERM...67 LONG TERM...Hagenhoff AVIATION...Dodson HYDROLOGY...05
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 12, 7:16 PM CDT, 10 hours 35 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Des Moines IA 716 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075- 081>086-092>097-131500- 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-Cass-Adair-Madison-Warren-Marion-Mahaska-Adams-Union- Clarke-Lucas-Monroe-Wapello-Taylor-Ringgold-Decatur-Wayne- Appanoose-Davis- 716 PM CDT Wed Aug 12 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Iowa. .DAY ONE...Tonight Thunderstorms are likely in parts of IOwa late tonight into Thursday morning. Some storms may be severe, with damaging wind gusts and locally heavy rainfall. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Additional chances for thunderstorms continue through the end of this week. Severe weather and excessive rainfall are possible at times through at least Friday. Warm and humid conditions are expected to continue into late this week over southern Iowa, where heat index values may near 100 degrees at times. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed at times over the next few days. Severe weather and rainfall reports are also appreciated.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Aug 13, 5:25 AM CDT, 26 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
525 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0519 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 7 SW Gray 41.77N 95.08W
08/13/2026 M66 MPH Audubon IA Mesonet
Measured from personal weather station.
&&
67Local storm report, Aug 13, 5:33 AM CDT, 18 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
533 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0529 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NW Audubon 41.73N 94.94W
08/13/2026 M64 MPH Audubon IA Mesonet
Measured from personal weather station.
&&
67The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2:53 AM CDT | Flood Watch | DMX | Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone and 38 more | 55 hr |
| Aug 13, 4:29 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Crawford | 46 min |
| Aug 13, 4:44 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Carroll, Crawford | 31 min |
| Aug 13, 5:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie | 51 min |
| Aug 13, 5:30 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Carroll | 30 min |
| Aug 13, 5:46 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Greene | 29 min |
| Aug 13, 6:27 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Marshall, Polk, Story | 48 min |
| Aug 13, 6:44 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Marshall, Story | 20 min |
| Aug 13, 6:48 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Jasper, Marshall, Polk, Story | 27 min |
| Aug 13, 7:11 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Jasper, Marshall, Poweshiek, Story, Tama | 49 min |
| Aug 13, 8:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Mahaska, Wapello | 42 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2026Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2026
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.