Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 28, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 28, 2002
Start: 2002-07-28T20:09
End: 2002-07-28T22:00
Location: Iowa

July 28, 2002 · NWS DVN · 8 events in 5 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 28, 2:04 PM CST, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:04 PM CST, 6 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
304 PM CDT SUN JUL 28 2002

CLOUDS AND SOME PRECIP HUNG AROUND LONGER THAN FORECAST PUTTING A
DAMPER ON THE HEAT FOR TODAY. SOME AREAS MAY JUST REACH ADVISORY
CRITERIA BUT CURRENT THOUGHTS ARE TO DROP ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT. WILL
MONITOR AND MAKE A LAST MINUTE DECISION.

AVN APPEARS TO INITIALLY HANDLE MAIN FEATURES PRETTY WELL. BASED ON
THAT PREMISE AVN DEVELOPS MCS THAT GOES ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA
TONIGHT AND POSSIBLY ANOTHER ACROSS MISSOURI. CURRENT DATA INDICATES
THAT THE MINNESOTA MCS WILL HAPPEN. THAT WOULD LEAVE AREA IN THE MIDDLE
WITH SOME PRECIP BUT NOT MUCH. BETTER FORCING IS ALSO NORTH/SOUTH OF
CWFA. COLD FRONT TO MOVE THROUGH DURING THE MORNING WITH MOST OF THE
AREA CLEARING OUT DURING THE AFTERNOON (ALA SATURDAY). QUIET WX THEN FOR
MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. EXTENDED STARTS OUT QUIET ON
WEDNESDAY WITH ANOTHER FRONT MOVING THROUGH ON THURSDAY. AVN HAS NICE
THETA E RIDGE AND FORCING ALONG FRONT WHICH WOULD SUGGEST HIGH CHANCE
OR LIKELY POPS. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THEN TURN QUIET AGAIN.

MAV/FWC ARE SIMILAR ON TEMPS WITH MAV BEING COOLER ON THE MAXES. MINS
TONIGHT MAY BE ON THE LOW SIDE GIVEN CURRENT MID AND UPPER 70 DEW
POINTS ACROSS THE AREA.

COORDINATED WITH DSM AND LSE.

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.

86

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:07 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Louisa

When: July 28, 8:09 PM CST
Where: Louisa County, Columbus Jct
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.267, -91.350

Several 6 to 12 inch diameter tree limbs blown down.

Hail, Linn

When: July 28, 9:07 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Marion
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.033, -91.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When: July 28, 9:12 PM CST
Where: Jones County, Anamosa
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.117, -91.283

Large tree blown down on power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cedar

When: July 28, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, Tipton
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.767, -91.133

A large tree was blown down on a home on West 7th Street.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: July 28, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Ely
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.867, -91.583

Power lines blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: July 28, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Marion
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.033, -91.600

Power lines and poles blown down. 3,500 homes in Cedar Rapids and Marion lost power.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: July 28, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Cedar Rapids
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.000, -91.650

Power poles and lines blown down. One power pole landed on an unoccupied vehicle on the southeast side of the city.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: July 28, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson County, Maquoketa
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.067, -90.683

A large tree limb was blown down, damaging the roof of a home on West Maple Street. Also, tree limbs knocked down several power lines resulting in scattered power outages.

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.

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, July 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: 5307130, 5307132, 5307131, 5307136, 5307133, 5307134, 5307135, 5307137.