Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 8, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 8, 2002
Start: 2002-07-08T17:40
End: 2002-07-08T20:15
Location: Iowa

July 8, 2002 · NWS DVN · 6 events in 4 counties and zones

6 thunderstorm wind, 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: 6

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 8, 1:05 PM CST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 1:05 PM CST, 4 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
205 PM CDT MON JUL 8 2002

SURFACE MAP SHOWS A LOW OVER WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN WITH A COLD FRONT
EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO NORTHEAST...NORTH CENTRAL...AND WEST
CENTRAL IOWA...THEN WEST INTO WISCONSIN. PRESSURE FALLS EXISTED EAST
OF THIS SYSTEM...WITH THE GREATEST FALLS EXTENDING FROM CENTRAL
WISCONSIN INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST IOWA. SURFACE
MAP AND SATELLITE ALSO SHOW POST FRONTAL CLOUDS...OVERCAST...EXTENDING
FROM WESTERN MINNESOTA INTO NORTHEAST IOWA. UPPER AIR CHARTS SHOW A
RIDGE EXTENDING FROM NEBRASKA INTO NORTHWEST CANADA. A
H7/H7 TROF/DISTURBANCE WAS EXTENDING FROM MINNESOTA INTO NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA. 18Z UPPER AIR SOUNDING FROM DVN SHOWS A CAP AROUND 900 MB.

FORECAST CHALLENGES INCLUDE PRECIP CHANCES TONIGHT...AND PRECIP CHANCES
ON THURSDAY.

SHORT RANGE...
COLD FRONT TO WORK THROUGH CWA TONIGHT. WITH SOUTHWEST MOTION...FRONT
WILL CLEAR OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES FIRST THEN OUR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES
LAST. PRESENTLY THE ONLY ACTIVITY WAS DISSIPATING OVER BUCHANAN
COUNTY...WITH THE NEXT CLOSEST ACTIVITY OVER EAST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.
THE FRONT WILL BE THE MAIN TRIGGER FOR ACTIVITY THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT...AND DEVELOPMENT WILL BE HINDERED BY THE CAP IN PLACE.  WILL
STILL CARRY POPS...ALBEIT LOWER THAN THE GOING ZONES HAVE. FRONT THEN
CLEARS THE AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUES MOVING SOUTH OF OUR
AREA...ALLOWING HIGH PRESSURE TO BUILD IN WITH COOLER AND DRIER AIR.
HIGH THEN RETREATS EASTWARD ALLOWING LOW PRESSURE TO DEVELOP WEST OF
US.  UPPER AIR LOW THEN NEARS OUR AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST ON WEDNESDAY.

EXTENDED...
TROF OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL RIDE OVER THE RIDGE AND INTO OUR
AREA ON THURSDAY. BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIP WILL BE THEN.  RIDGE BUILDS
BACK INTO OUR AREA AS THE TROF PASSES...BRINGING WARMER WEATHER. GOING
EXTENDED LOOKS GOOD SO I DON/T ANTICIPATE MANY CHANGES.

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

JAZ

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: July 8, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Shueyville
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.850, -91.650

Trees blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cedar

When: July 8, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, Stanwood
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.900, -91.150

Roof blown off a porch.

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: July 8, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Coralville
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.683, -91.583

Numerous trees and branches blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: July 8, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Iowa City
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.667, -91.550

Trees and branches blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Muscatine

When: July 8, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Muscatine County, West Liberty
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.583, -91.267

Large tree blown down on a car. The car was unoccupied.

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When: July 8, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Davenport
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 41.533, -90.583

Trees and limbs toppled some power lines.

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.

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: 5307047, 5307051, 5307048, 5307049, 5307050, 5307052.