Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 2, 2000

A very moist and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa. Lifted indices were near -10 C. with CAPE values in the 4000 to 5000 J/kg range over the state. Surface dew point temperatures soared into the mid 70s as afternoon maximum temperatures were around 90 degrees F. During the afternoon, an east to west cold front began to sag south across the state. Thunderstorms erupted along the boundary and became severe quite quickly. The freezing level was around 16,000 feet, so hail was not a major problem with the storms. A few reports of three-quarter to one inch diameter hail were received from the initial development of the storms. The hail did do a fair amount of crop damage. During the mid to late afternoon hours the thunderstorms began to bow out to the southeast. As the storms bowed, high winds resulted. The winds caused damage to trees for the most part with winds in the 60 to 70 MPH range. A garage was flattened by the high winds in Pocahontas County in the town of Palmer. As the thunderstorms rolled south into southern Iowa, lightning caused damage in Taylor County. A tree was struck outside of a home in Bedford. The tree was destroyed, a few windows were blown out, and sparks flew from the ceiling. One computer was damaged and a few items were knocked from shelves.