Another early morning MCS moved across Eastern Iowa and Northern Illinois producing heavy rain and damaging winds. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour were common with the storms.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
Another early morning MCS moved across Eastern Iowa and Northern Illinois producing heavy rain and damaging winds. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour were common with the storms. Heavy rain along the North Fork of the Maquoketa River in Iowa pushed the river to bankfull. The Clinton Airport AWOS measured 48 knots (55 mph) as the storms moved through downing some trees and power lines in Clinton.
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 7, 2:35 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 335 AM CDT MON JUL 7 2003 ON-GOING NOCTURNAL CONVECTION OVER NORTHEAST IA GOT OFF TO A LATE START TONIGHT UPSTREAM COMPARED TO PAST SEVERAL NIGHTS. LINE OF TSRA FROM CID INTO SE MN AT 08Z OCCURRING ALONG AND NORTH OF STATIONARY FRONT THAT LAYED OUT FROM NEAR KVYS THROUGH QUAD CITIES TO NORTH CENTRAL IA YESTERDAY. THIS FRONT WAS BRIEFLY ACTIVE IN THE EVENING AND PRODUCED SCATTERED TSRA JUST NORTH OF QUAD CITIES EAST TO ROCK FALLS. BOUNDARY LAYER MOST UNSTABLE IN WARM SECTOR SW OF FRONT WITH LAPS CAPES IN 1500 TO 2000 J/KG RANGE AT 07Z. REFERENCE WW 664 ISSUED FOR THESE STORMS THAT SHOULD STAY MAINLY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 30 THROUGH SUNRISE ON SOUTHERN EXTENT OF H5 SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN MN. FORECAST CHALLENGE THROUGH MID WEEK CONTINUES TO BE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WITH CONTINUED SEVERE AND FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL. ADVERTISED PATTERN SHIFT MID WEEK PUSHES FRONT WELL TO SOUTH AND BRINGS SOME RELIEF FROM THUNDERSTORMS...HEAT AND HUMIDITY LATE WEEK INTO WEEKEND. 00Z FORECAST MODELS STILL HAVING DIFFICULTIES WITH CONVECTIVE COMPLEXES. ALL DID POORLY INTIALIZING EVENING NEB MCS AND DEVELOPED MCS OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN IA TOO EARLY. ETA WAS ESPECIALLY POOR WITH NGM AND ESPECIALLY GFS CLOSER TO ON-GOING CONVECTION PLACEMENT THIS MORNING AND MAINLY FOLLOWED. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALONG AND NORTH OF CURRENT FRONT...WHICH SHOULD NOT WANDER TOO FAR AND PREFER MORE NORTHERN POSITION INDICATED BY NGM BY EVENING. AFTER CURRENT COMPLEX MOVES EAST...WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR VORT MAX THAT AIDED NEB STORMS EARLIER PROGGED TO PUSH NE THEN EAST ALONG IA/MN BORDER TODAY POTENTIALLY PRODUCING ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION ALONG BOUNDARIES AND THUS KEPT SCATTERED POPS GOING IN THE NORTHERN HALF TODAY WITH ONLY ISOLATED IN SOUTH. TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...STILL THINK BEST POPS WILL BE OVER NORTHERN HALF CLOSER TO SOUTHERN EDGE OF STRONGER MID LEVEL FLOW AND VICINITIY OF FRONT AND CONVECTIVE BOUNDARIES. STRONGER MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE LATE TUESDAY OR TUESDAY NIGHT WILL PROVIDE PUSH FOR FRONT TO MOVE SOUTH AND KEEP ENTIRE CWA UNDER GUN FOR CONVECTION. SEVERE AND HEAVY RAIN THREAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL FRONT SETTLES SOUTH OF CWFA ON WEDNESDAY. GFS STILL ODD MODEL OUT WITH STRONG LOW TRACKING ALONG FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN MO INTO CENTRAL IL WED NIGHT AND WILL FOLLOW BLEND WITH CHANCE POPS OVERNIGHT... HIGHEST IN FAR SOUTH. WITH H85 DEWPOINTS IN 12 TO 14 DEG C RANGE...SURFACE DEWPOINTS ABOVE 70 AND HIGH PRECIPITABLE H20...WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH FLOODING POTENTIAL FOR ESPECIALLY THE SOUTH THAT HAS BEEN HIT HARDEST PAST FEW DAYS. THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE IN AGREEMENT WITH UPPER LOW OFF PACIFIC NW INDUCING RIDGE OVER ROCKIES OVER WEEKEND AND DOWNSTREAM NW FLOW OVER CWFA. LATEST GFS CONTINUES WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE AND PRECIP CHANCES FOR SUNDAY. ONLY A FEW TWEAKS MADE TO DAYS 4 THROUGH 7. .DVN... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. SHEETS
IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-071000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 425 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN IOWA... NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...EVENING AND OVERNIGHT... AS WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXIT THE AREA TO THE EAST THIS AFTERNOON...ATTENTION THEN TURNS TO THE WEST AND SOUTH. A WEAK BOUNDARY DRAPED ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IOWA THIS AFTERNOON MAY BECOME THE FOCUS FOR MORE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING. VERY WARM AND MOIST AIR CONTINUES TO POOL INTO THIS FEATURE ON THE NOSE OF A SOUTHWEST BREEZE OVER SOUTHERN IOWA. THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN THE VICINITY OF THE BOUNDARY OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...AND AFFECT AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MARENGO...TO MUSCATINE...AND TO MONMOUTH. IF ANY STORMS DO DEVELOP THIS EVENING...THEY WILL FEED ON THE VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR AND MAY REACH SEVERE LEVELS. THE HIGHEST RISKS WILL BE FOR DAMAGING WINDS OF UP TO 65 MPH AND LARGE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS. THE STORMS WILL ALSO BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AT RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR. IF STORMS DEVELOP AND AFFECT PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST IOWA...WHICH WAS HARD HIT BY HEAVY RAINFALL SATURDAY EVENING...FLASH FLOODING PROBLEMS COULD ARISE QUICKLY. THIS INCLUDES THE KEOSAUQUA...DONNELLSON...AND KEOKUK AREAS IN FAR SOUTHEAST IOWA...AND THE KAHOKA AREA IN FAR NORTHEAST MISSOURI. AFTER THE EVENING THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL...ANOTHER THREAT IN THE FORM OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX MAY AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE AREA LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY MORNING. THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING THIS EVENING ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA...AND INTO SOUTH DAKOTA...MAY LOOK TO FORM INTO A LARGE SYSTEM OF STORMS AND PROPAGATE TOWARD NORTHEAST IOWA AFTER MIDNIGHT. THESE STORMS COULD FORM INTO A BIG BOWING COMPLEX THAT MAY SWEEP ACROSS AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR FROM 3 AM TO 7 AM. IF THIS LARGE BOW ECHO MATERIALIZES AND MAKES IT DOWN INTO THE LOCAL AREA... STRAIGHT LINE WINDS OF 60 TO 70 MPH MAY BE PRODUCED BY IT. LATEST INDICATIONS SUGGEST THAT THE WIND THREAT MAY AFFECT THE DUBUQUE AND CEDAR RAPIDS AREAS BY AROUND 3 AM. STAY TUNED FOR LATER UPDATES AND FORECASTS CONCERNING THIS LATE NIGHT STORM POTENTIAL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS IS ANTICIPATED MONDAY NIGHT AS A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS DROPS OUT OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA... THROUGH THE MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 WITH THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO THREATEN THE REGION TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS ACROSS SOUTHERN IOWA AND NORTHERN MISSOURI. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AREA WIDE...THEN LIKELY LATE TONIGHT ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY ALSO BE NEEDED AGAIN MONDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DVN DLF/12
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
401 AM CDT MON JUL 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0350 AM 5 NE HAZLETON IA .5 INCH HAIL
07/06/03 BUCHANAN REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0355 AM JESUP IA .5 INCH HAIL
07/06/03 BUCHANAN REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:12 UTC.
6 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees down
10-20 inch diameter limbs down in Stanley
Water over old highway 20
Occurred in 35 minutes with street flooding
Numerous trees down citywide
Tree down. KCWI AWOS reported 48 knots
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2003
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: 5377657, 5377723, 5377724, 5369251, 5369252, 5369253, 5369255, 5369254, 5377361, 5377362, 5369256, 5377360.