Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 27, 1993

On the morning of the 26th, a stationary front extended from northwest Minnesota into northwest Kansas. During the evening, an upper level system pushed the front into Iowa, with the front reaching central Iowa by sunrise on the 27th. Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of the cold front. High winds affected the northwest counties of the state. One-inch-diameter hail was reported with the storms in O'Brien County at Sanborn. Shortly after midnight, strong straight line winds in Sanborn blew a police car across the street. The winds lasted 3 to 3.5 minutes. A three block area in Hartley had a lot of tree damage, with a 22-inch-diameter ash tree uprooted. Four buildings had the windows broken out. A three-stall garage had its roof blown about 100 meters north into a bean field. A single car garage was completely blown away. It had its door closed with a car inside the garage. After the wind stopped, the garage was on the other side of the grove and the car was not scratched. The garage was destroyed. Four strands of heavy electrical wire were blown down just north of town. As the storm moved over Dickinson County, lightning struck a resort house in Arnolds Park. The house was set on fire. The fire spread quickly, causing extensive damage to the home.