Lightning, Jefferson
- When
- October 3, 3:28 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, 3 mi N of Fairfield
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning set a field on fire.
Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, October 3, 2000
Late afternoon, a nearly stationary frontal boundary extended from surface low pressure in Central Kansas northeast through Northern Missouri and Central Illinois. Two main areas of thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- 7
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.
Late afternoon, a nearly stationary frontal boundary extended from surface low pressure in Central Kansas northeast through Northern Missouri and Central Illinois. Two main areas of thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening. One area developed over East Central Iowa along a southward advancing cold front. A second area developed over Southeast Iowa, West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri as the low level jet increased above the strengthening frontal boundary. The thunderstorms which developed along the advancing cold front were well removed from any surface based instability over Northern Missouri, but were strong enough to produce vivid lightning, heavy rain and several reports of pea size hail in Jones and Linn Counties. Storms which developed over Southeast Iowa initially were elevated in nature and produced several reports of large hail. The storms developed or propagated into Northern Missouri and West Central Illinois along the stationary frontal boundary and became more surface based. As a result, the severe threat transitioned from large hail to damaging winds.
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:39 UTC.
Event by event
3 lightning, 3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Louisa
- When
- October 3, 4:52 PM CST
- Where
- Louisa County, 1 mi W of Morning Sun
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning set a telephone pole on fire.
Lightning, Linn
- When
- October 3, 5:40 PM CST
- Where
- Linn County, Cedar Rapids
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck a line that tripped a breaker at the Linn-Mar substation. Power was knocked out for a few hours to 1,700 homes and businesses in Cedar Rapids and Marion.
Hail, Jefferson
- When
- October 3, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, 1 mi NE of Perlee
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.100, -91.900
Hail, Henry
- When
- October 3, 8:05 PM CST
- Where
- Henry County, 2 mi W of Trenton
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.067, -91.683
Hail the size of nickels covered the ground.
Hail, Henry
- When
- October 3, 8:10 PM CST
- Where
- Henry County, 1 mi N of Mt Pleasant
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.983, -91.550
Thunderstorm Wind, Des Moines
- When
- October 3, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Des Moines County, West Burlington
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.817, -91.150
Several 9 to 10 inch tree limbs downed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Florida, October 3 to 4, 2000
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Illinois, October 3, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, October 3, 2000
- Tornado in Florida, October 3, 2000
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, October 3, 2000
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, October 3, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, October 3, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, October 3, 2000
- Wildfire in Oregon, October 3 to 5, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, October 3, 2000
- Damaging Wind in Florida, October 3, 2000
- Tornado in Florida, October 3, 2000
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, October 2000
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5161960, 5161961, 5161966, 5161962, 5161963, 5161965, 5161964.