Tornado, Tama
- When
- August 8, 2:55 PM CST
- Where
- Tama County, Tama
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.970, -92.580
Tornado in Iowa, August 8, 1998
Isolated thunderstorms formed once again over the east half of Iowa as the state remained under the dominance of an upper level low pressure system. Though the areal coverage of thunderstorms was much less than in previous days, funnel clouds were once again reported.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
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.
Isolated thunderstorms formed once again over the east half of Iowa as the state remained under the dominance of an upper level low pressure system. Though the areal coverage of thunderstorms was much less than in previous days, funnel clouds were once again reported. One touched down briefly to become a weak tornado, more like a land spout, near Tama in Tama County. No damage was reported however.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:52 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, August 8, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Mississippi, August 8, 1998
- Flood in North Carolina, August 8, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, August 8, 1998
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 8, 1998
- Hail in Arkansas, August 8, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Colorado, August 8, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, August 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, August 8, 1998
- Flood and Lightning Strike in Arizona, August 8, 1998
- Hail in Arkansas, August 8, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, August 8, 1998
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1998Warnings in Iowa, August 1998
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: 5657402.