Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, June 13, 2000

A very dynamic situation took shape over Iowa as an unseasonably strong upper level trough of low pressure punched southeast into the state. Deep tropical moisture was in place at the time with surface dew points in the upper 60s to mid 70s across the region. Several rounds of convection had taken place across the state during previous days, leaving several boundaries in place. One of the boundaries merged with an east-west warm frontal system over southern Iowa. Thunderstorms erupted during the morning hours. These storms brought a round of high winds and some hail to central into northeast Iowa. Hail was not that large with the storms with most reports under one inch in diameter. Gusty winds were widespread however. Winds of 60 to 75 MPH were fairly common from Des Moines, northeast into the Waterloo area. There were numerous reports of trees down. Structural damage occurred on a maintenance garage in Des Moines as 60 to 70 MPH winds blew through. High winds also took down high tension lines in the Ankeny area. Farther to the north, a semi-tractortrailer truck was blown off a highway in Marshall County. The storms continued northeast into the Waterloo area, causing power outages and downed trees in the metropolitan area. As the storms moved through Jasper County, lightning struck a driver education car in the town of Newton. Though nobody was injured, three of the cars tires were blown out and damage was done to the engine by the lightning strike.