Thunderstorm Wind, Mahaska
- When
- July 6, 12:45 PM CST
- Where
- Mahaska County, 4 mi ENE of New Sharon
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- $13,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 41.483, -92.600
Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 6, 2002
The weather pattern was very similar to the previous day. Temperatures were close to 90 F.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $43,000
- Crop damage
- $29,000
- Events
- 5
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 weather pattern was very similar to the previous day. Temperatures were close to 90 F. by early afternoon with surface dew point tempertures in the low to mid 70s. Thunderstorms developed in the weak flow environment rapidly. Though the initial storms were not severe and were heavy rain producers, numerous outflow boundaries resulted from the storms. A few of the storms became severe along the outflow boundaries of pre existing storms. Wind and hail damage occurred in Polk County southeast of Altoona from one of these storms. The downburst winds damaged crops, trees, and downed power lines. Another storm produced a strong downburst south of Winterset in Madison county. Several small trees were damaged and doors were ripped off of sheds and several grain bins were thrown. Downburst winds in Mahaska County caused a 6 miles stretch of damage along U.S. Highway 63 east of New Sharon. Numerous large branches were downed, crops were flattened, and a few large trees were downed. The width of the damage path ranged from a few tens of meters to nearly a kilometer 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 Jul 5, 9:10 PM CST, 15 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 9:10 PM CST, 15 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1010 PM CDT FRI JUL 5 2002 RECENTLY UPDATED ZNS FOR MINOR CNGS. CONVECTION FM THIS AFTN PUSHED OUT LRG OUTFLOW BNDRY WHICH 02Z SFC ANLYS NOW INDCS W OF MO RVR. KOAX SOUNDINGS FAVORABLE FOR ELEVATED CONVECTION BUT WITH LTL CNVGNC AND ANY SEMBLANCE OF LOW LVL JET WELL TO OUR W WL LEAVE FCST DRY. WITH PLENTY OF RAIN IN SOME LOCATIONS...ISOLD 1-4 INCH AMTS...LOW LVLS HAVE PLENTY OF MSTR WITH DWPNTS DEPRESSIONS AOB 3F IN SVRL LOCATIONS. HAVE ADDED AREAS OF FOG OVNGT IN CNTRL AND ERN SXNS. NO OTHER CHGS BESIDES TO FIT CURRENT WX. .DSM...NONE SMALL
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:44 UTC.
Event by event
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Polk
- When
- July 6, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 2 mi SE of Altoona
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 41.633, -93.433
Thunderstorm Wind, Polk
- When
- July 6, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 2 mi SE of Altoona
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 41.633, -93.433
Hail, Polk
- When
- July 6, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 2 mi SE of Altoona
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 41.633, -93.433
Thunderstorm Wind, Madison
- When
- July 6, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Madison County, 2 mi S of Winterset
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.300, -94.017
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
- Heat in Missouri, July 6 to 9, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Nebraska, July 6, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Texas, July 6 to 8, 2002
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Oklahoma, July 6, 2002
- Flash Flood in Texas, July 6, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 6, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, July 6, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 6 to 7, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Texas, July 6, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 6, 2002
- Flash Flood in Texas, July 6, 2002
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 6, 2002
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5304509, 5304510, 5304511, 5304512, 5304513.