Iowa, 1998

Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 28, 1998

May 28, 1998 · NWS DVN · 17 events in 8 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms blasted across Northeast Iowa causing widespread damage to trees, buildings and power lines. Most damage was due to strong wind gusts from 50 to 100 mph.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$320
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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 DVN wrote it up.

Severe thunderstorms blasted across Northeast Iowa causing widespread damage to trees, buildings and power lines. Most damage was due to strong wind gusts from 50 to 100 mph. The storms also produced three brief tornados in Linn and Dubuque counties. Near Onslow a semi-tractor rig was toppled by high winds. In Clinton county the Red Cross provided emergency shelter to a family from Lost Nation after a large tree fell through a window of their mobile home. In Vinton a fallen utility pole and electric transformer smashed a car. The city of Preston suffered heavy tree damage with many homes sustaining minor to moderate damage. West of Preston lightning struck a home and caused about $10,000 to $12,000 worth of smoke damage. In the Cedar Rapids area about 9,400 customers were without electrical service after power lines were downed by falling tree limbs. Near the Kirkwood Community College softball fields high winds picked up aluminum bleachers and pushed them through a backstop.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Buchanan

When
May 28, 5:13 PM CST
Where
Buchanan County, Fairbank
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.630, -92.050

Hail, Buchanan

When
May 28, 5:20 PM CST to 5:24 PM CST
Where
Buchanan County, Aurora
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
42.620, -91.730

Hail, Buchanan

When
May 28, 5:25 PM CST
Where
Buchanan County, Lamont
Measured
1.5 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.600, -91.630

Hail, Buchanan

When
May 28, 5:28 PM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where
Buchanan County, Fairbank
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.630, -92.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 28, 5:40 PM CST to 5:42 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Mt Auburn to Garrison
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.250, -92.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 28, 6:03 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Newhall
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.980, -91.980

Tornado, Linn

When
May 28, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Linn County, 2 mi W of Palo
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
0.5 yd
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
42.070, -91.820

Tornado, Linn

When
May 28, 6:12 PM CST
Where
Linn County, 3 mi NW of Cedar Rapids Airpark
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
0.5 yd
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.080, -91.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When
May 28, 6:22 PM CST
Where
Jones County, Monticello
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.230, -91.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Dubuque

When
May 28, 6:25 PM CST
Where
Dubuque County, Dyersville
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
42.480, -91.120

Tornado, Dubuque

When
May 28, 6:32 PM CST
Where
Dubuque County, Worthington
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
0.5 yd
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
42.400, -91.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When
May 28, 6:40 PM CST
Where
Jones County, Anamosa to Onslow
Property damage
$120
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.120, -91.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Dubuque

When
May 28, 6:58 PM CST
Where
Dubuque County, Peosta
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.450, -90.850

Hail, Dubuque

When
May 28, 6:58 PM CST
Where
Dubuque County, Cascade
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.300, -91.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When
May 28, 7:01 PM CST
Where
Jackson County, Maquoketa
Property damage
$200
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.070, -90.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When
May 28, 7:05 PM CST
Where
Clinton County, Grand Mound
Measured
78 kt (90 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.820, -90.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Muscatine

When
May 28, 7:16 PM CST
Where
Muscatine County, Wilton
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.580, -91.020

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1998Warnings in Iowa, May 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: 5663183, 5663184, 5663185, 5663186, 5663187, 5663291, 5663292, 5663293, 5663294, 5663295, 5663296, 5663297, 5663298, 5663299, 5663300, 5663301, 5663302.