Tornado in Iowa, May 30, 2004

Name: Tornado in Iowa, May 30, 2004
Start: 2004-05-30T14:56
End: 2004-05-30T14:58
Location: Iowa

May 30, 2004 · NWS DVN · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Tornado developed just east of 190th Avenue and moved northeast through a field.

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: $4,000
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.

Tornado developed just east of 190th Avenue and moved northeast through a field.

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, 10 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 3:58 AM CST, 10 hours 58 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, 10 hours 36 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, 1:40 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
240 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0236 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 W NAUVOO              40.55N 91.42W
05/30/2004                   LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

0230 PM     HAIL             ARGYLE                  40.53N 91.57W
05/30/2004  1.75 INCH        LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

0228 PM     TSTM WND GST     DONNELLSON              40.64N 91.56W
05/30/2004  50 MPH           LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

14

Local storm report, May 30, 1:41 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT ... CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
241 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0228 PM     TSTM WND GST     DONNELLSON              40.64N 91.56W
05/30/2004  60 MPH           LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

14

Local storm report, May 30, 1:47 PM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
247 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0240 PM     TSTM WND GST     NAUVOO                  40.55N 91.38W
05/30/2004  80 MPH           HANCOCK            IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

14

Local storm report, May 30, 2:17 PM CST, 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
317 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0317 PM     HAIL             LA HARPE                40.58N 90.97W
05/30/2004  1.75 INCH        HANCOCK            IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

DMD

Local storm report, May 30, 2:24 PM CST, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
324 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0244 PM     TORNADO          2 NW MONTROSE           40.55N 91.44W
05/30/2004                   LEE                IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREE DAMAGE JUST NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF MONTROSE NEAR
            3032 223RD AVE.

&&

14

Local storm report, May 30, 2:33 PM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
333 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0331 PM     TORNADO          URBANA                  42.22N 91.88W
05/30/2004                   BENTON             IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ON HIGHWAY 150 MOVING NORTHEAST.

&&

DMD

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Jones

When: May 30, 2:56 PM CST to 2:58 PM CST
Where: Jones County, 4 mi WSW of Monticello
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Crop damage: $4,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.217, -91.267

Rated F0

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

Every storm in Iowa in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 2004 Warnings 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: 5418381.