Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 14, 2001

Name: Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 14, 2001
Start: 2001-06-14T13:43
End: 2001-06-14T17:00
Location: Iowa

June 14, 2001 · NWS DMX · 27 events in 14 counties and zones

S. remained unchanged from what it had been during previous days.

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: $290,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Events: 27

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 DMX wrote it up.

The very unstable atmospheric condition over the central U.S. remained unchanged from what it had been during previous days. A strong cold front approached from the west as intense low pressure in the upper atmosphere lifted northeast into South Dakota during the day. Deep moisture was in place over the central U.S. with dew points at the 850 mb level at or approaching 20 degrees C. Numerous boundaries were in place across the state from the previous nights convection. Strong convection developed over Missouri during the early afternoon hours. This convection lifted north into Iowa during the afternoon. A line of severe thunderstorms moved into south central Iowa. This line moved northeast rapidly across the state along with an apparent gravity wave seen in satellite imagery. The main severe weather event was high winds. Though there were a few reports of large hail, most of the hail was no larger than marble size. Numerous reports of 60 to 70 MPH winds were received over south central into northeast Iowa. Tree and power line damage was widespread. As the storms moved through Black Hawk County, high winds swept into La Porte City. Trees were toppled in town. One fell on a police squad car, trapping the officer inside the car for a period of time. The echo pattern of the thunderstorms took on a LEWP (Line Echo Wave Pattern) by late afternoon. The mesoscale vorticity center was quite evident in the radar imagery as it passed over Mahaska County. A small tornado formed near the crest of the wave and touched down northeast of the town of Oskaloosa. Five buildings were damaged at a farm there and 2 x 4's were driven into a hog confinement building. The damage path was approximately one eighth mile long and 100 yards wide.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 14, 11:18 AM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 14, 11:18 AM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1215 PM CDT WED JUN 13 2001

BUSY MORNING BUT I WANTED TO SEND THE AFD TO LET EVEYRONE KNOW THAT
THE ZOENS HAD BEEN UPDATE TO REMOVE MORNING WORDING AND TO UPDATE
THE AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT PERIODS.  THE MORNING CONVECTION THREW A
MONKEY WRENCH INTO THE WORKS AND THE MCS OVER KS MOVING INTO IOWA
PROMISES TO FURTHER MUDDY THE FORECAST.  GIVEN THE ATMOSHERE GETTING
WORKED OVER THE SEVERE POTENTIAL...WHILE STILL EXISTS...IS NOT AS
GOOD AS IT ONCE WAS.  CONFERRED WITH SPC AS THIER MODERATE RISK WAS
REMOVED FROM IOWA.  THE CONCERN FOR THE AFTERNOON IS HAIL AND FLASH
FLOODING.

THE MODELS ARE ALL HINTING AT THE 850 MB FRONT HANGING BACK IN NE
AND MOVING ACROSS THE CWA THIS EVENING BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH ABOUT MIDNIGHT.

.DSM...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALONG/WEST OF INTERSTATE 35 TODAY.

FAB

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 14, 10:34 AM CST, 3 hours 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1134 AM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0745 AM    ALGONA                    IA   NON TSTM WINDS
06/14/01   KOSSUTH                        50+ MPH NON TSTM WINDS.
                                          TWO TO THREE FOOT
                                          DIAMETER TREES BLOWN
                                          DOWN IN TOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
                                          OFFICIAL.

0857 AM    INDIANOLA                 IA   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/14/01   WARREN                         REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT.

Local storm report, Jun 14, 11:12 AM CST, 2 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1212 PM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0801 AM    2 N BURT                  IA   NON TSTM WINDS
06/14/01   KOSSUTH                        63 MPH NON TSTM WINDS.
                                          REPORTED BY MEDIA.

0815 AM    BUFFALO CENTER            IA   NON TSTM WINDS
06/14/01   WINNEBAGO                      60+ MPH NON TSTM WINDS.
                                          WINDOWS BLOWN OUT.
                                          BUFFALO STATUE BLOWN
                                          OVER. REPORTED BY MEDIA.

Special weather statement, Jun 14, 12:15 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before

CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
115 PM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

TWO AREAS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES IOWA FROM THE WEST. THUNDERSTORMS ARE
LIKELY TO PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN TO THE SOUTHEAST
AND EAST OF DES MOINES AS STORMS CONTINUE TO REDEVELOP AND MOVE
NORTH FROM CENTRAL MISSOURI. FARTHER WEST...THE ATMOSPHERE IS
EXPECTED TO BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE OVER WESTERN IOWA AS SOUTH
WINDS TRANSPORT MOISTURE FROM THE KANSAS CITY AREA. BY LATE
AFTERNOON...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP IN A NORTH TO
SOUTH LINE OVER WESTERN IOWA AHEAD OF THE FRONT. THE STRONGEST
STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE OVER SOUTHWEST IOWA...CLOSER TO THE
INSTABILITY AND INFLOW.  SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND
HEAVY RAIN...ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS. THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN IOWA
SHOULD GRADUALLY WORK INTO CENTRAL IOWA DURING THE EVENING HOURS AS
THE FRONT MOVES EAST...WHILE TRAINING OF THUNDERSTORMS AND REPEAT
HEAVY RAINS ARE MORE LIKELY EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF DES MOINES.
EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND WEAK TURNING OF THE WIND DIRECTION WITH
HEIGHT ARE LIKELY TO LIMIT THE EXTENT OF THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

SEE SITE SPECIFIC DETAILS BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION.

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>026-033>037-044>048-151100-
BOONE-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CERRO
GORDO-CRAWFORD-EMMET-FRANKLIN-GREENE-HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HARDIN-
HUMBOLDT-KOSSUTH-PALO
ALTO-POCAHONTAS-SAC-STORY-WEBSTER-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-WRIGHT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALGONA...AMES...BOONE...CARROLL...
DENISON...ESTHERVILLE...FORT DODGE...IOWA FALLS...MASON CITY AND
WEBSTER CITY
546 AM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

* EVENT TIMING... 4 PM TO MIDNIGHT.

* THREAT CATEGORIES...
     TORNADO.......... LOW.
     DAMAGING WINDS... LOW.
     LARGE HAIL....... LOW.
     FLASH FLOODING... MODERATE.

* SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... MODERATE.

* SHEAR AND INSTABILITY PARAMETERS INDICATE THAT THE THREAT OF
SEVERE WEATHER HAS LESSENED SOME FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...WITH THE FOCUS LIKELY TO BE FARTHER SOUTHWEST. A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MIDNIGHT...AND SEVERE WEATHER
WATCHES ARE POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

IAZ057>060-070>073-081>083-092>094-151100-
ADAIR-ADAMS-AUDUBON-CASS-CLARKE-DALLAS-DECATUR-GUTHRIE-MADISON-POLK-
RINGGOLD-TAYLOR-UNION-WARREN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ATLANTIC...CRESTON...DES MOINES...
INDIANOLA...LAMONI AND PERRY
546 AM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

* EVENT TIMING... THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* THREAT CATEGORIES...
     TORNADO.......... LOW.
     DAMAGING WINDS... LOW.
     LARGE HAIL....... MODERATE.
     FLASH FLOODING... MODERATE.

* SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... MODERATE.

* A COMBINED THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING AND SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST
THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.

IAZ027-028-038-039-049-050-061-062-074-075-084>086-095>097-151100-
APPANOOSE-BLACK
HAWK-BREMER-BUTLER-DAVIS-GRUNDY-JASPER-LUCAS-MAHASKA-MARION-MARSHALL-
MONROE-POWESHIEK-TAMA-WAPELLO-WAYNE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CENTERVILLE...CHARITON...GRINNELL...
KNOXVILLE...MARSHALLTOWN...NEWTON...OSKALOOSA...OTTUMWA...PELLA...
WATERLOO AND WAVERLY
546 AM CDT THU JUN 14 2001

* EVENT TIMING... CONTINUED THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

* THREAT CATEGORIES...
     TORNADO.......... NONE.
     DAMAGING WINDS... LOW.
     LARGE HAIL....... MODERATE.
     FLASH FLOODING... MODERATE.

* SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... MODERATE.

* THUNDERSTORMS COULD TRAIN OVER LOCATIONS EAST OF I-35 AND SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 30...WITH AN INCREASING THREAT OF FLASH FLOODS THIS EVENING.

JUNGBLUTH

-------------------------------------------------------------------

THREAT KEY:
    TORNADO.......... ANY TORNADO OCCURRENCE
    DAMAGING WINDS... WINDS >= 58 MPH
    LARGE HAIL....... HAIL >= 3/4 INCH DIAMETER
    FLASH FLOODING... FLOODING CAUSED BY HEAVY RAINS WITHIN 6 HOURS
                      OF RAIN EVENT. POSES THREAT TO LIFE OR
                      PROPERTY.

THREAT CATEGORY KEY:  PROBABILITY OF THREAT OCCURRING WITHIN 25
                      MILES OF POINT WITHIN FORECAST AREA
    NONE....... NOT EXPECTED.  LESS THAN 5% ( 2% FOR TORNADOES)
    LOW........ 5-15% (2-15% FOR TORNADOES)
    MODERATE... 25-35%
    HIGH....... 45% OR GREATER

SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK KEY:
    NOT EXPECTED
    LOW........ ACTIVATION POSSIBLE BUT NOT LIKELY
    MODERATE... POSSIBILITIES ABOUT 50-50
    HIGH....... ACTIVATION LIKELY

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROBABILISTIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOKS...GO
TO THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER WEBSITE AT
WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/PRODUCTS/OUTLOOK/PROBINFO.HTML .

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

25 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: June 14, 1:43 PM CST
Where: Union County, 6 mi SE of Afton
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.967, -94.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, Garden Grove
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.817, -93.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Ringgold

When: June 14, 1:46 PM CST
Where: Ringgold County, 8 mi S of Mt Ayr
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.600, -94.233

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 1:47 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, 2 mi W of Lamoni
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.617, -93.967

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 1:52 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, Lamoni
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.617, -93.933

Thunderstorm Wind, Ringgold

When: June 14, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Ringgold County, 2 mi N of Kellerton
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.733, -94.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, Lamoni
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.617, -93.933

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, Davis City
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.633, -93.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Wayne

When: June 14, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Wayne County, Humeston
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.867, -93.483

Hail, Decatur

When: June 14, 2:28 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, 5 mi SW of Van Wert
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.817, -93.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When: June 14, 2:37 PM CST
Where: Clarke County, 2 mi W of Weldon
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.900, -93.767

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: June 14, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Decatur County, Leon
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.733, -93.733

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When: June 14, 2:44 PM CST
Where: Clarke County, Osceola
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.033, -93.783

Thunderstorm Wind, Lucas

When: June 14, 2:51 PM CST
Where: Lucas County, 7 mi S of Chariton
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.917, -93.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When: June 14, 3:01 PM CST
Where: Monroe County, 3 mi E of Albia
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.033, -92.767

Thunderstorm Wind, Marion

When: June 14, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Marion County, 2 mi W of Knoxville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 41.317, -93.133

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When: June 14, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Monroe County, 1 mi S of Albia
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.017, -92.817

Thunderstorm Wind, Appanoose

When: June 14, 3:10 PM CST
Where: Appanoose County, Moulton
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.683, -92.667

Thunderstorm Wind, Mahaska

When: June 14, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Mahaska County, Oskaloosa
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.300, -92.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Wapello

When: June 14, 3:36 PM CST
Where: Wapello County, Ottumwa
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.017, -92.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Mahaska

When: June 14, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Mahaska County, Oskaloosa
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.300, -92.650

Tornado, Mahaska

When: June 14, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Mahaska County, 3 mi NE of Oskaloosa
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $2,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.333, -92.617

Brief touchdown on a farm northeast of Oskaloosa. Several buildings damaged.

Thunderstorm Wind, Poweshiek

When: June 14, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Poweshiek County, 10 mi NW of Montezuma
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $27,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.683, -92.667

Thunderstorm Wind, Poweshiek

When: June 14, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Poweshiek County, 6 mi SW of Malcolm
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.633, -92.633

Thunderstorm Wind, Grundy

When: June 14, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Grundy County, Reinbeck
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.317, -92.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Black Hawk

When: June 14, 4:50 PM CST
Where: Black Hawk County, La Porte City
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.317, -92.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Poweshiek

When: June 14, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Poweshiek County, Montezuma
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.583, -92.533

What these are

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

Every storm in Iowa in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 2001 Warnings in Iowa, June 2001

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: 5246705, 5246712, 5246630, 5246706, 5246631, 5246632, 5246633, 5246634, 5246635, 5246636, 5246637, 5246704, 5246638, 5246639, 5246707, 5246640, 5246708, 5246641, 5246642, 5246643, 5246644, 5246703, 5246709, 5246701, 5246711, 5246702, 5246710.