Iowa, 1994

Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, July 6, 1994

July 6, 1994 · 9 events in 7 counties and zones

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$711,000
Crop damage
$61,000
Events
9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ida

When
July 6, 12:30 AM CST
Where
Ida County, Ida Grove
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
$500
Coordinates
42.387, -95.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A stationary frontal system remained just to the northwest of Iowa. The airmass was extremely unstable with convective available potential energy between 5000 and 6000 J-Kg-1 over the northwest part of Iowa. Feeding into the area was an area of dew point temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees. This set the stage for explosive thunderstorm development. A small area of thunderstorms fired up over northwest Iowa in Woodbury County. As the evening progressed, a HP Supercell developed over the western part of the county and remained nearly stationary for several hours. Actually the cell would drift slightly northeast with the environmental winds, then back-develop over the same area. This resulted in flash flooding over a part of Woodbury County as around 5 inches of rain fell in two to three hours time. The cell spawned numerous funnel clouds and one tornado. The tornado touched down northwest of Salix, then drifted slowly southeast. Damage occurred in the Salix area. First to be hit was in the rural areas northwest of town, where several grain bins were destroyed. As the tornado moved into the city, two houses were damaged and two others destroyed. A full size car was lifted and carried from a driveway, then deposited on its top. Damage estimates were in the $200,000 range. Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths reported. The tornado was actually visible for nearly two hours. In all probability, this was a family of tornadoes from the parent supercell. Other than the one cell, severe weather was rather spotty even though the storms developed into a bow configuration. Sixty to 70 MPH winds were reported southeast of Le Mars as the gust front passed. High winds downed power lines in Onawa. The storms acted very much like the storms of the previous night. A well defined outflow boundary was depicted on the WSR-88D radar at Des Moines. The boundary advanced during the night until it was about 100 miles ahead of the complex by sunrise. This cut off the inflow to the storms. Lightning damage was reported in Sioux City. In one strike, a garage was struck by lightning causing minor damage. Later, a house was struck in town. The house was set on fire.

Tornado, Cerro Gordo and Floyd

When
July 6, 1:30 PM CST to 1:52 PM CST
Where
Cerro Gordo and Floyd County, Portland to to Rockford
Rating
F1
Path length
11.5 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
$5,000
Coordinates
43.130, -93.130

Intermittent path

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
July 6, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Belle Plaine
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
$5,000
Coordinates
42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Benton

When
July 6, 2:20 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Vinton
Measured
1.25 in hail
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
$50,000
Coordinates
42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When
July 6, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Linn County, Swrn Cedar Rapids
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When
July 6, 3:40 PM CST
Where
Linn County, Swrn Cedar Rapids
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage
$500,000
Coordinates
42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Fayette

When
July 6, 3:43 PM CST
Where
Fayette County, Hawkeye
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$500
Crop damage
$50
Coordinates
42.930, -91.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Clayton

When
July 6, 3:45 PM CST
Where
Clayton County, Clayton
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Allamakee

When
July 6, 3:50 PM CST
Where
Allamakee County, Harpers Ferry
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
20 yd
Coordinates
43.200, -91.150

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1994Every state in 1994This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1994Warnings in Iowa, July 1994

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10324304, 10321489, 10322129, 10322130, 10324428, 10324429, 10321581, 10321545, 10322011.