Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 16 to 17, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 16 to 17, 2002
Start: 2002-08-16T23:10
End: 2002-08-17T04:13
Location: Iowa

August 16 to 17, 2002 · NWS DMX · 13 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $151,000
Crop damage: $75,000
Events: 13

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.

During the evening hours an unseasonably strong cold front advanced into Iowa from the northwest. The airmass was capped, however the very strong dynamics were able to overcome the cap and a narrow line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of the front. For the most part, the storms produced strong winds as high as 75 MPH. The line had several bowing segments along it, each causing high wind. For the most part the damage was limited to trees and power lines. A window was blown out of a house in Roland in Story County. Also, the high winds tore off some of the siding from a school building in Creston in Union County. Some hail was reported during the early stages of the squall lines development. Golf ball size hail fell southwest of Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County. A few reports of hail three quarters of an inch to an inch in diameter were received. As the storms moved through Emmet County, lightning struck a corn crib on a farm in rural Ringsted. The crib was set on fire and destroyed before fire fighters were able to contain the blaze.

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 Aug 16, 12:10 PM CST, 11 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 12:10 PM CST, 11 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
110 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

MAIN CONCERN IN SHORT TERM IS DVLPG SVR WX AND HOW LONG IT WILL LAST
THEN SECOND ROUND WITH COLD FNT.

ALL MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT ON INTENSE SFC LO DVLOP CNTRL PLAINS
DEEPENING AND MOVING NEWRD WITH SHARP S/W TROF MOVG OUT OF PACIFIC
NW AIDED BY DECENT JET ALG CANADIAN /U.S. BORDER.  AVN LOOKS BEST ON
POSITION OF SFC LO AND UPPER S/W TROF THIS MRNG.  LINE HAS DVLPD IN
STG THETA E ADVCTN ZN.  HWVR ATTM LN STRUGGLING TO PENTRATE MUCH
DRIER CAPPED AIR IN MUCH OF IA.  LTST RUNS OF AVN/MESOETA SHOW
TRENDS OF DYING OUT THIS ROUND OF PCPN THEN DVLPG STG SQUALL LINE
AFT MIDN WITH HIGH POTENTIAL FOR WIND DAMAGE.  ALL DYNAMICAL FIELDS
STG THO BRF TIME FRAME PASSING THROUGH AREA MORE TYPICAL OF FALL
SYSTEM.  AFTER TNGT LINGERING SHWRS IN SERN CWA THEN FAIR WEATHER
UNTIL ERY NXT WEEK.  SECOND HALF OF NXT WEEK HAS SERIES OF FAIRLY
STG SYSTEM MOVG THROUGH FAST FLOW.  VERY ACTIVE PATTERN EVEN FOR
SECOND HALF OF AUGUST.

GUID TEMPS LOOK GD AS PASSAGE OF COLD FRNT BRINGS DECENT THCKNS
FALLS.  SOME ADJSTMNTS NEEDED FOR LCL EFFECTS.

.DSM...NONE

FORSTER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 16, 7:04 PM CST, 4 hours 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
804 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

0524 PM    POCAHONTAS                IA   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   POCAHONTAS                     REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          TREE FELL ON HOUSE.

0535 PM    5 E PALMER                IA   60-70 MPH TSTM GUST
08/16/02   POCAHONTAS                     REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0545 PM    2 SW HUMBOLDT             IA   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   HUMBOLDT                       REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          DAMAGE TO GRAIN BIN AND
                                          SMALL BUILDING TWISTED.

0605 PM    1 N BADGER                IA   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   WEBSTER                        REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          24 INCHES IN DIAMETER
                                          TREE LIMB DOWN KNOCKING
                                          POWER OUT.

0605 PM    FT DODGE                  IA   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   WEBSTER                        REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          SMALL LIGHT POLE DOWN
                                          ALONG WITH 6 - 8 INCH
                                          DIAMETER LIMBS DOWN.

0605 PM    DUNCOMBE                  IA   70-80 MPH TSTM GUST
08/16/02   WEBSTER                        REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.  2 FOOT
                                          DIAMETER LIMB WENT
                                          THROUGH VEHICLE
                                          WINDSHIELD.

Local storm report, Aug 16, 10:33 PM CST, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1133 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

1127 PM    EMMETSBURG                IA   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   PALO ALTO                      REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          NON THUNDERSTORM WIND
                                          GUSTS CAUSING NUMEROUS
                                          LARGE TREES TO
                                          FALL...DAMAGING
                                          POWERLINES.

Local storm report, Aug 16, 10:34 PM CST, 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1134 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

0520 PM    3 S WALLINGFORD           IA   NON TSTM WINDS
08/16/02   EMMET                          REPORTED BY KICD RADIO.
                                          NUMEROUS TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. BARN
                                          DESTROYED.

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:09 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Palo Alto

When: August 16, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Palo Alto County, Ayrshire
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 43.033, -94.850

Hail, Palo Alto

When: August 16, 11:27 PM CST
Where: Palo Alto County, 2 mi S of Emmetsburg
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 43.083, -94.700

Lightning, Emmet

When: August 16, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Emmet County, Ringsted
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When: August 17, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Crawford County, Vail
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.067, -95.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Webster

When: August 17, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Webster County, Ft Dodge
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.500, -94.183

Hail, Wright

When: August 17, 2:37 AM CST
Where: Wright County, Clarion
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.733, -93.733

Thunderstorm Wind, Boone

When: August 17, 2:48 AM CST
Where: Boone County, Pilot Mound
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 42.167, -94.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Boone

When: August 17, 2:52 AM CST
Where: Boone County, Boxholm
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.183, -94.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: August 17, 3:03 AM CST
Where: Union County, Creston
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.067, -94.367

Thunderstorm Wind, Story

When: August 17, 3:28 AM CST
Where: Story County, Roland
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.167, -93.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Decatur

When: August 17, 3:45 AM CST
Where: Decatur County, Lamoni Arpt
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.633, -93.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: August 17, 3:55 AM CST
Where: Marshall County, Marshalltown
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.050, -92.917

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: August 17, 4:13 AM CST
Where: Union County, Afton
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.033, -94.200

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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

Every storm in Iowa in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, August 2002

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: 5306927, 5306936, 5306937, 5306926, 5306928, 5306929, 5306930, 5306931, 5306932, 5306934, 5306935, 5306938, 5306933.