Tornado, Lee
- When
- May 30, 1:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lee County, 1 mi SW of Montrose
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 70 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
- Coordinates
- 40.517, -91.433
Rated F1
Tornado in Iowa, May 30, 2004
The fourth and final tornado in the cyclic Lee County supercell developed just east of the Bardlow Farm and moved east northeast to the edge of Montrose before dissipating. Numerous trees and power lines were downed with a garage being totally destroyed.
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
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 DVN wrote it up.
The fourth and final tornado in the cyclic Lee County supercell developed just east of the Bardlow Farm and moved east northeast to the edge of Montrose before dissipating. Numerous trees and power lines were downed with a garage being totally destroyed. A barn had its roof lifted, slightly twisted, and then set back down on the parent structure. If the tornado have gone another two blocks, it would have moved into a residential area of Montrose.
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 May 30, 3:58 AM CST, 9 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 30, 3:58 AM CST, 9 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 458 AM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG STORM SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE AREA TODAY AND THIS EVENING BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN TO THE AREA. SEVERE WEATHER ALSO POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THE MOST LIKELY AREA SOUTH AND EAST OF AN OTTUMWA...QUAD CITIES...TO LA SALLE PERU LINE. && .DISCUSSION... TODAY AND TONIGHT...VIGOROUS STORM SYSTEM TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. MODELS SUGGEST A POSSIBLE TRIPLE POINT TO MOVE THROUGH THE CWFA DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS WHICH WOULD ENHANCE SEVERE POTENTIAL. SEVERE POTENTIAL LOOKS TO BE MAINLY HAIL/HIGH WINDS BUT OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LEFT OVER FROM THE EARLY MORNING CONVECTION MAY ALLOW ISOLATED TORNADOES TO DEVELOP. AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT QUIETER WX TO SETTLE OVER THE CWFA. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN STILL LOOKS ON TRACK SO WILL KEEP CURRENT FLOOD WATCH GOING. MONDAY THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY...STRONG CYCLONIC FLOW TO REMAIN ACROSS THE REGION MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH UPPER LOW TO DRIFT SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA. VORT MAXES RIPPLING ALONG IN THE FLOW TO PRODUCE AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHRA WITH SOME TSRA POSSIBLE ON MONDAY. QUIET WX THEN EXPECTED FOR THURSDAY FRIDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVER THE AREA. MODELS DISAGREE SOMEWHAT ON DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT SYSTEM FOR THE WEEKEND BUT STRONG WAA RETURN FLOW SHOULD ALLOW PRECIP TO BREAK OUT FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. STRONG CYCLONIC FLOW ON SUNDAY SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO ALLOW SCATTERED SHRA TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH NOON. IA...IAZ040>042-051>054 IL...NONE. MO...NONE. && 08
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 4:20 AM CST, 9 hours 10 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 520 AM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-311000- BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLARK MO- CLINTON IA-DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL- HENDERSON IL-HENRY IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA- JO DAVIESS IL-JOHNSON IA-JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA- MCDONOUGH IL-MERCER IL-MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL- SCOTLAND MO-SCOTT IA-STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL- WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL- 520 AM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... EAST CENTRAL IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. RAIN WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. GENERAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH OVER 2 INCHES POSSIBLE WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS. DUE TO SATURATED SOILS...RAINFALL OF THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD RAPIDLY RUN OFF INTO STREAMS AND RIVERS AND CAUSE RENEWED FLOODING. SUFFICIENT WIND SHEAR IS PRESENT TO ALLOW SEVERE STORMS TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE AREA MOST AT RISK APPEARS TO BE SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM OTTUMWA...TO THE QUAD CITIES...TO PERU ILLINOIS. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. ALTHOUGH LESS CERTAIN...ANOTHER AREA OF SEVERE WEATHER MAY OCCUR NORTH OF HIGHWAY 30. WIND SHEAR IN THIS AREA IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. IF THIS OCCURS... ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITH DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREAT. IF SEVERE WEATHER DOES OCCUR...THE MOST LIKELY TIME PERIOD WOULD BE FROM 3 PM UNTIL 10 PM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY UNSETTLED WEATHER IS EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WITH AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS. THE MOST LIKELY TIME PERIOD FOR ANY THUNDERSTORMS WOULD BE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY FORECAST TO AFFECT THE REGION LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. 08
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 30, 10:35 AM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
1135 AM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1100 AM HEAVY RAIN 1 S HENNEPIN 41.24N 89.32W
05/30/2004 2.50 INCH PUTNAM IL LAW ENFORCEMENT
1100 AM FLASH FLOOD GRANVILLE 41.26N 89.23W
05/30/2004 PUTNAM IL LAW ENFORCEMENT
FLOODING REPORTED AT ROUTE 18 AND MAGNOLIA.
&&
ERVINSpecial weather statement, May 30, 12:05 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 105 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-310000- BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLINTON IA- DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL-HENDERSON IL- HENRY IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA-JO DAVIESS IL- JOHNSON IA-JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA-MCDONOUGH IL- MERCER IL-MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL-SCOTT IA- STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL-WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL- 105 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 ...NEW TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 332 NOW IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWEST ILLINOIS UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SUPERCELLS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THE ATMOSPHERIC SET UP IS RIPE TO PRODUCE ROTATING THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES...DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER 65 MPH... AND LARGE HAIL UP TO AT LEAST GOLF BALL SIZE. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STRONG STORMS AND LIKELY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. MOZ009-010-310000- CLARK MO-SCOTLAND MO- 105 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 330 CONTINUES UNTIL 7 PM CDT... NORTHEAST MISSOURI IS ALSO PRIME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OF THE SUPERCELLULAR VARIETY THIS AFTERNOON. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL ALL BE A THREAT UNTIL THE STORMS PASS OFF TO THE EAST OF THE AREA LATER THIS EVENING AS A COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE REGION. 12
Local storm report, May 30, 12:09 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
109 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0109 PM HAIL ASBURY 42.51N 90.76W
05/30/2004 0.25 INCH DUBUQUE IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
DMDLocal storm report, May 30, 1:04 PM CST, 26 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
204 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0203 PM HAIL WYACONDA 40.39N 91.93W
05/30/2004 1.00 INCH CLARK MO LAW ENFORCEMENT
0200 PM HAIL WYACONDA 40.39N 91.93W
05/30/2004 0.75 INCH CLARK MO LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
14Local storm report, May 30, 1:13 PM CST, 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
213 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0205 PM HAIL FREEPORT 42.29N 89.63W
05/30/2004 0.25 INCH STEPHENSON IL TRAINED SPOTTER
5 MINUTES OF PEA SIZE HAIL BETWEEN 205 AND 210 PM.
&&
14Local storm report, May 30, 1:21 PM CST, 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
221 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0200 PM HAIL MEMPHIS 40.46N 92.17W
05/30/2004 0.75 INCH SCOTLAND MO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
DMDThe radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:31 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Tornado in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in West Virginia, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kentucky, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Flash Flood and Hail in Tennessee, May 30, 2004
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornado in Missouri, May 30, 2004
- Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 30, 2004
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 2004Warnings in Iowa, May 2004
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: 5419663.