Iowa, 1996

Funnel Cloud in Iowa, August 26, 1996

August 26, 1996 · NWS DMX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Thunderstorms formed along a weak cold frontal boundary during the afternoon hours. A cold pool of air aloft, with 500 mb temperatures around -12 C.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS DMX wrote it up.

Thunderstorms formed along a weak cold frontal boundary during the afternoon hours. A cold pool of air aloft, with 500 mb temperatures around -12 C. was over the the area. Though no severe thunderstorms occurred, there were numerous reports of cold air funnel clouds.

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Winnebago

When
August 26, 2:05 PM CST
Where
Winnebago County, Lake Mills
Coordinates
43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, August 1996

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: 5557643.