Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 21, 1998

A very warm, humid, and unstable airmass was located over Iowa. Dew point temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s ahead of a weak windshift line. Thunderstorms erupted during the night over western Nebraska and advanced into Iowa. Though the storms were in the dissipating as they moved east, a bow echo formed on the east edge of the mesoscale convective system. High winds advanced into northwest Iowa as the bow echo raced quickly east across the north two to three tiers of counties. Though many areas reported winds of 50 to 55 MPH, only a few actually reached severe criteria. Seventy mile per hour winds occurred in Palo Alto and Kossuth Counties for example. Numerous trees were downed by the winds, but no extreme damage occurred. High winds blew down trees and several grain bins in Pocahontas County at Varina. High winds blew over a heavy crane in Estherville in addition to other damage around the city. Two sheds were blown over in Kossuth County by highs winds in Whittenmore. Hail was limited with the storms. Numerous reports of pea size hail were received with a report of three quarter inch diameter hail in Emmet County at Estherville.