Tornado developed at the intersection of highways 1 & 218 on the southwest side of Iowa City at 1929 CST and tracked northeast through the city before lifting just northeast of the intersection of 1st Avenue & Hickory Trail at 1937 CST. This path took it through the southeast corner of the University of Iowa campus.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Tornado developed at the intersection of highways 1 & 218 on the southwest side of Iowa City at 1929 CST and tracked northeast through the city before lifting just northeast of the intersection of 1st Avenue & Hickory Trail at 1937 CST. This path took it through the southeast corner of the University of Iowa campus. This was the first tornado to hit near the campus in 35 years and the University was closed on Friday April 14th for safety reasons.The KIOW ASOS at the airport on the southwest side of the city recorded a peak wind gust of 49 knots (57 mph) at 1931 CST. This gust was likely the result of the rear flank downdraft as the tornado neared the intersection of U.S. 6 and highway 1 northeast of the airport. Hard times for the location of the tornado are 1930 CST at the Wal-Mart. At 1932-1933 CST power was lost at the Johnson County Sheriff Office with telephone lines, LAN, and automated systems going down as the tornado passed over the building. While the tornado was passing over the sheriff's office, someone flipped the outdoor warning sirens from automatic to manual override and activated the sirens one final time.Damage totals are still being evaluated and the $12 million amount will likely be closer to $15 million or possibly higher. Known damage amounts include; Iowa City and Johnson County $4 million with an additional $755,000 of uninsured loses (traffic lights, signs, street lights), University of Iowa $6 million with the motor pool headquarters a total loss and 31 vehicles damaged, and $1.3 million in damage to residences/businesses. Three automobile dealerships were damaged; one dealership had 200 vehicles damaged, a second had 60-70 vehicles damaged, and a third had nearly every vehicle sustaining some type of damage.A total of 1,016 residential and 35 commercial buildings were damaged with some destroyed. Some well known landmark buildings known to citizens, college students, and alumni were lost or heavily damaged. These included the Dairy Queen (lost) and St. Patrick's Church (heavily damaged). Several historic buildings were damaged downtown and it is unknown whether or not they can or will be saved. The tornado damaged the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house and damaged many student apartments located just off the campus on Iowa, Dodge, and Governor streets.Given the strength and width of the tornado it is amazing that only 30 injuries (many minor) occurred. Many U of I students were unaware of what was happening or dashed to a nearby parking garage for safety with the tornado approaching a few blocks behind them. Several foreign exchange students, many of whom had never seen, experienced, or heard of a tornado, were in awe and disbelief over the magnitude of the event. At St. Patrick's Church, the Maundy Thursday evening service had just ended. Upon being told of an approaching tornado by Decon Jerome Miller, the Reverend Rudolph Juarez ushered 50 to 75 parishioners (many elderly) to the safety of the rectory basement next door. This action saved the lives of everyone as the tornado tore off the roof off the church and collapsed the top portion of the brick facade and the steeple into the main congregation area.
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 Apr 13, 4:42 PM CST, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 542 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006 .UPDATE... THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INITIATED OVER CENTRAL IOWA IN THE LAST 30 MINUTES...AND THIS IS A FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE INTO OUR CWA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AS BEEN ISSUED TIL MIDNIGHT...AREAS NORTH OF HIGHWAY 78 IN IOWA...AND FOR MERCER AND ROCK ISLAND IN ILLINOIS. THE MAIN THREAT SHOULD BE LARGE HAIL AND VERY STRONG WINDS UP TO 80 MPH. SOME SUPERCELLS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WELL...MAINLY IN EASTERN IOWA EARLY THIS EVENING. ERVIN && .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY SAG SOUTH TONIGHT AND STALL ACROSS THE REGION FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS. A SERIES OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS ARE FORECAST TO TRACK ALONG THE FRONT BRINGING SEVERAL ROUNDS OF RAIN TO THE AREA. && .DISCUSSION... MOISTURE IS SLOWLY MOVING INTO THE REGION ALBEIT SLOWER THAN WHAT THE MODELS HAVE BEEN INDICATING. NEW 18Z SOUNDING STILL HAS A MINIMAL CAP ON IT. THIS CAP ALONG WITH VERY LIMITED MOISTURE HAS PRECLUDED CONVECTION FROM DEVELOPING. CONVECTION SHOULD DEVELOP FAIRLY QUICKLY THIS EVENING WITH IT TRANSFORMING INTO AN MCS THAT EXITS THE AREA AROUND DAWN FRIDAY. MCS IN TURN WILL HELP PUSH THE COLD FRONT SOUTH TO THE IA/MO BORDER WITH THE NEXT WAVE ARRIVING FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE WAVE ON FRIDAY SHOULD INITIATE CONVECTION DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING WITH DRY EASTERLY FLOW SETTING UP BY SATURDAY MORNING. STALLED FRONT TO RETURN SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY AND THIS COULD GET INTERESTING IF THE MODELS ARE CORRECT. POTENTIAL IS THERE FOR A MODERATE TO POSSIBLY HEAVY RAIN EVENT OVER ABOUT THE NORTH HALF OF THE CWFA. AFTER A QUIET MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...THE NEXT WAVE ARRIVES TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIP TO THE AREA. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY LOOK DRY ATTM. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL MIDNIGHT NORTH OF HIGHWAY 78. IL...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL MIDNIGHT ROCK ISLAND AND MERCER. MO...NONE. ERVIN/08
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 155 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-141015- BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-IOWA-JOHNSON- CEDAR-CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-KEOKUK-WASHINGTON-LOUISA-JEFFERSON- HENRY IA-DES MOINES-VAN BUREN-LEE-JO DAVIESS-STEPHENSON-CARROLL- WHITESIDE-ROCK ISLAND-HENRY IL-BUREAU-PUTNAM-MERCER-HENDERSON- WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH-SCOTLAND-CLARK- 155 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA REMAINS IN A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...FOR MAINLY THIS EVENING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP TOWARD EVENING OVER SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST IOWA. THESE STORMS MAY THEN DEVELOP INTO A COMPLEX AND MOVE QUICKLY SOUTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWEST ILLINOIS TONIGHT BETWEEN 7 PM AND 1 AM. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS OF 60 TO 80 MPH. SECONDARY THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN. THE PORTION OF THE OUTLOOK AREA MOST AT RISK IS GENERALLY NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM WASHINGTON IOWA...TO MONMOUTH ILLINOIS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A CONTINUED RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT AS A STRONG FRONT LINGERS IN THE REGION. ON FRIDAY...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS FOR AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE AREA OF MAIN CONCERN WILL BE NEAR A STALLED FRONTAL WEST TO EAST BOUNDARY IN THE VICINITY OF SOUTHEAST IOWA...NORTHEAST MISSOURI INTO WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. CONDITIONS IN THIS AREA MAY BE FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. A MORE WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER EVENT IS POSSIBLE SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE REGION. SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON. THESE MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...WHICH MAY CAUSE MINOR FLOODING AND RISING RIVER LEVELS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING. MCCLURE
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
818 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0818 PM HAIL IOWA CITY 41.66N 91.54W
04/13/2006 E1.75 INCH JOHNSON IA AMATEUR RADIO
&&
RAYWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
820 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0816 PM HAIL 1 S VAN HORNE 42.00N 92.09W
04/13/2006 E1.00 INCH BENTON IA EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
RAYWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
821 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0820 PM HAIL CEDAR RAPIDS 41.97N 91.67W
04/13/2006 E1.50 INCH LINN IA EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
RAYWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
822 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0820 PM HAIL CEDAR RAPIDS 41.97N 91.67W
04/13/2006 E1.25 INCH LINN IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
MIKEZPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
824 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0822 PM HAIL CEDAR RAPIDS 41.97N 91.67W
04/13/2006 E0.88 INCH LINN IA TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTED DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL.
&&
MIKEZPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
826 PM CDT THU APR 13 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0822 PM HAIL MARION 42.03N 91.59W
04/13/2006 E0.75 INCH LINN IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
MIKEZThe Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:29 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Rated very high F2 with winds estimated at 155 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 2006Warnings in Iowa, April 2006
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: 5502578.