Damaging Winds in Iowa, October 1, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Iowa, October 1, 2002
Start: 2002-10-01T22:30
End: 2002-10-01T23:35
Location: Iowa

October 1, 2002 · NWS DVN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 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: 2

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 Oct 1, 1:05 PM CST, 9 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 1, 1:05 PM CST, 9 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
205 PM CDT TUE OCT 1 2002

ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN UNFOLDING FOR REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
MID LEVEL SW FLOW STRENGTHENING AS WEST COAST TROUGH DEEPENS AND
UPPER RIDGE HOLDING ON OVER SERN U.S.  MSAS PLACES SURFACE FRONT
ACROSS NW IA THROUGH ERN NE INTO WAVE OVER NORTH CENTRAL KS.  WATER
VAPOR LOOP SHOWS EMBEDDED S/W OVER ERN NE AT 18Z WHICH SUPPORTING
CLUSTER OF
SHRA/TSRA FROM CENTRAL INTO E CENTRAL/NE IA.  TSRA LIGHTING ON
SOUTHERN FRINGE OF CLUSTER AS IT ENCOUNTERS MORE AVAILABLE
INSTABILITY OVER NE MO/CENTRAL IL.

IN THE SHORT TERM MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT MOVING ERN NE IMPULSE ENE
INTO WI THIS EVENING AND SHOVING SURFACE FRONT SE TO NEAR A
STJ-MLI-RFD LINE BY 12Z WEDNESDAY.  MODELS...ESPECIALLY
AVN...ADVERTISING A COUPLED JET STRUCTURE EVOLVING OVERNIGHT AS
SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA JET INCREASES TO AROUND 12OKTS AND WITH A 100KT
JET NOSING INTO CENTRAL NE BY 12Z WED.  THIS COMBINED WITH 850 FRONT
OVER IA AND PW AROUND 1.5 INCHES SHOULD PROVIDE LIFT...GOOD MOISTURE
SOURCE AND FOCUS FOR SOME DECENT RAINS LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY
WEDNESDAY OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS OF CWA.  CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE
ALREADY HAS HEAVY RAIN MENTIONED AND WILL CONTINUE.  A SURFACE WAVE
RIDING ALONG THE FRONT WEDNESDAY KEEPS FRONT FROM MOVING MUCH
WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN FRONT MOVES SOUTHEAST INTO IL/NRN MO BY 00Z
THURSDAY.  WILL TAPER POPS OFF NORTH AFTER WEDNESDAY MORNING AND
KEEP AT LEAST LIKELYS GOING SOUTH FOR RAIN/TSRA. THURSDAY NIGHT
FRONT LIFTS BACK NORTH IN RESPONSE TO STRONG S/W LIFTING OUT OF S.W.
TROUGH.  BY 12Z AVN PLACES FRONT OVER NW CORNER OF CWA.  THE ETA IS
NOT QUITE AS AGRESSIVE PLACING FRONT NEAR A CID/DBQ LINE BY EARLY
FRIDAY.  AVN HAS BEEN THE PREFFERED MODEL ALL ALONG AND WILL TREND
TOWARD THE AVN SOLUTION FOR THURSDAY/FRIDAY. AVN MOVES SURFACE LOW
RAPIDLY NORTHEAST FRIDAY WITH COLD FRONT MOVING EAST OF CWA BY 00Z
SATURDAY.

TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE A HEADACHE WITH STRONG BAROCLINIC
ZONE WAFFLING OVER CWA NEXT FEW DAYS.  AGAIN AVN IS THE PREFERRED
MODEL ...SO WILL STAY CLOSE TO THE MAV NUMBERS.

.EXTENDED...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
S/W ENERGY MOVING OUT OF WESTERN U.S. WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER CHANCE OF
RAIN FOR SUNDAY.  TIMING WILL BE AN ISSUE WITH MRF/CANADIAN
SUGGESTING SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE THROUGH REGION EARLY SUNDAY...BUT
UKMET IS CONSIDERABLY SLOWER WITH SURFACE TROF OVER THE FRONT RANGE
AT 12Z SUNDAY. 12Z AVN IS ALSO SHOWING SYSTEM DIGGING AND CLOSING
OFF OVER SOUTHERN ROCKIES SUNDAY...WHICH ALSO LENDS SUPPORT FOR
SLOWER SOLUTIONS. FOR NOW WILL GO WITH A BLEND AND INTRODUCE SHRA
FOR SUNDAY.  SINCE THERE IS SOME CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES IN TIMING
WITH THIS SYSTEM...WILL STAY A LITTLE ABOVE MEX  NUMBERS FOR MONDAY.

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

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: October 1, 10:30 PM CST to 10:35 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Fairfield
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.000, -91.983

The northwest portion of the Maharishi University of Management campus sustained considerable damage. At least 20 trees were blown over, mainly along Zimmerman Boulevard. One vehicle and two trailers were also damaged, and the entire length of a fence around the northeast corner of a residential building was blown away. The high winds blew a portion of the fence into an automobile, smashing the driver's side door and front quarter panel. Skirting was also ripped from a trailer, and a few windows were broken. Several area residents believed the damage was due to a tornado and reported feeling intense ear pressure accompanying a loud roar with the onset of the high winds. However, no tornadoes were sighted, and one eyewitness after the storms moved through was quoted as saying "it was straight line winds which crunched things up pretty bad".

Thunderstorm Wind, Des Moines

When: October 1, 11:20 PM CST to 11:35 PM CST
Where: Des Moines County, Danville
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.867, -91.300

Localized but extensive damage occurred due to a downburst. Damage was first reported in Danville where a large tree was blown onto a vehicle, several windows were blown out of a home, and numerous tree limbs were blown down. In West Burlington, a grain silo was blown into trees bringing down trees and power lines. The path of damage continued into downtown Burlington where numerous power lines and poles were blown down, trees were knocked over onto several vehicles, a grain silo was toppled, and a billboard was blown onto a police vehicle. The last report of damage was near the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport, where construction signs and billboards were blown down.

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, October 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: 5319632, 5319682.