Thunderstorms produced damaging winds and large hail in northwest Iowa, including the Sioux City area, during the late afternoon into the start of the evening on July 19th.
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 FSD wrote it up.
Thunderstorms produced damaging winds and large hail in northwest Iowa, including the Sioux City area, during the late afternoon into the start of the evening on July 19th.
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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 19, 8:45 AM CST, 6 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 945 AM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008 .DISCUSSION... MORNING MCS MOVED THROUGH CWA WITH RAINFALL TOTALS UP TO AN INCH WITH LITTLE WIND AND VERY SMALL HAIL. QUITE A BIT OF SUBSIDENCE BEHIND IT WHICH WILL MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR REDEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE IN PLACE...HEATING... AND HINT OF WEAK LIFT TO THE WEST OF MISSOURI RIVER...I WILL ONLY DECREASE POPS THROUGH 00Z BUT NOT TAKE THEM OUT DUE TO ABOVE REASONING. BIG QUESTION IS WHERE THE STORMS WILL DEVELOP. PLENTY OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AROUND...SO VERY DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN AREA. SEVERE THREAT WILL BE THERE DUE TO AVAILABLE CAPE AND SOME SHEAR...BUT DO NOT EXPECT IT TO BE WIDESPREAD. MAIN THREAT WOULD BE WIND AND HAIL. && .AVIATION... VFR CIGS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AFTER AREAS OF STRATUS BURN OFF THE REMAINDER OF THIS MORNING. WIDELY SCATTERED -TSRA POSSIBLE AFTER 20Z BUT AREA OF DEVELOPMENT IS UP IN THE AIR DUE TO NUMBER OF BOUNDARIES IN CWA. WILL MENTION IN FORECAST BUT ONLY HAVE SHORT WINDOW OF OCCURRENCE. && .PREV DISCUSSION... ACTIVE DAY WEATHER WISE FOR THE CWA. LINEAR MCS IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE NRN CWA EARLY THIS MORNING AS CONVECTION REFIRES ALONG COLD POOL OUTFLOW. NOT SURE HOW MUCH INFLUENCE THIS SYSTEM WILL HAVE ON THE LARGER SYNOPTIC SCALE TODAY...BUT AT THIS TIME THINK IT WILL ONLY HAVE A MINOR IMPACT. WILL HAVE TO MONITOR FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING... ESPECIALLY IN AREAS W OF I29. THERE IS ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND EFFECTIVE SHEAR FOR NICKEL HAIL AND WINDS TO 60 MPH...ALTHOUGH THE OVERALL THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS IS ON THE LOW SIDE. LLJ AND ISENTROPIC FORCING WILL BE THE MAIN TRIGGERS FOR NEW THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT S AND W OF THIS MORNINGS INITIAL MCS. ATTM STORMS CONTINUE TO FORM IN S CNTRL AND WRN SD IN ASSOCIATION WITH THESE FEATURES. PROVIDED MODELS HAVE A HANDEL ON LLJ EVOLUTION TODAY...SHOULD SEE THE BULK OF THIS CONVECTION LIFT ENE INTO E CNTRL SD THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS...BUT THAT DOES NOT PRECLUDE STORMS IN THE SRN CWA. ACTUAL EVOLUTION OF STORMS THIS MORNING WILL HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON CHANCES AND LOCATION OF STORMS THIS AFTERNOON...AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS...MAINLY DEPENDING ON WHAT EXTENT BNDRY LAYER STABILIZES. MAIN CHANCES FOR SEVERE WX THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING SHOULD BE INTO NW IA...PROVIDED MINIMAL CONVECTION THIS MORNING AND AMPLE DAYTIME HEATING FOR DESTABILIZATION. MAIN SEVERE WX THREAT WITH AFTERNOON STORMS WOULD BE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS...70 MPH WIND GUSTS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. CONVECTION SHOULD QUICKLY SHIFT E AND S OF THE CWA THIS EVENING AS FRONTAL BNDRY AND OUTFLOW FROM CONVECTION STABILIZES THE ATMOSPHERE. GFS HINTS AT RETURN FLOW BY LATE TONIGHT INTO SUN MORNING...CAPABLE OF TRIGGERING CONVECTION. LEFT A SLIGHT CHANCE IN FOR SUN MORNING...BUT THINK RETURN FLOW COULD BE SLOWER THAN GFS INDICATES. BETTER CHANCES FOR STORMS LOOKS TO BE LATE SUN AFTERNOON AND EVENING NEAR A SFC BNDRY LINGERING NEAR THE CWA. && AVIATION... THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH EAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING AND MAY IMPACT ALL TAF SITE. EXPECT 30 TO 40 MPH WIND GUSTS WITH THESE STORMS AND RAINFALL WHICH MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN 1/2 MILE. OTHERWISE...GENERALLY VFR THROUGH THE DAY. CONTINUED CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...MAINLY INTO NW IA AND SW MN. CLEARING SKIES FOR TONIGHT. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. NE...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 1025 AM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-201200- AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA- CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE- DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON- IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN- LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN- OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN- SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON- 1025 AM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO THE SUNS HEAT WORKING ON THE AVAILABLE MOISTURE. THE LOCATION OF STORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES PRODUCED BY THE STORM ACTIVITY OF THE PAST 24 HOURS. THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BECOMING SEVERE WITH STRONG WINDS AND HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS AREAS ALONG INTERSTATE 90 AND TO THE SOUTH ON SUNDAY. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER 3 PM. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SIOUXFALLS. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
259 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0250 PM HAIL 3 NE CANISTOTA 43.63N 97.25W
07/19/2008 E0.75 INCH MCCOOK SD TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
333 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0253 PM HAIL 5 NW LUVERNE 43.71N 96.27W
07/19/2008 E0.75 INCH ROCK MN TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
336 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0304 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 W SIOUX FALLS 43.54N 96.83W
07/19/2008 MINNEHAHA SD TRAINED SPOTTER
10 TO 12 INCH TREE SPLIT, SIDING TORN OFF A HOUSE, AND A
GARAGE DOOR BOWED IN BY STRONG WINDS JUST NORTH OF WILD
WATER WEST.
&&
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
339 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0305 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 W SIOUX FALLS 43.54N 96.83W
07/19/2008 MINNEHAHA SD TRAINED SPOTTER
18 INCH DIAMETER TREE BLOWN DOWN ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF
WILD WATER WEST.
&&
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
344 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0330 PM HAIL HARRISBURG 43.43N 96.70W
07/19/2008 E1.00 INCH LINCOLN SD TRAINED SPOTTER
IN ADDITION TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL, SOME STREET FLOODING
WAS REPORTED IN THE NORTHERN PART OF HARRISBURG.
&&
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
349 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0330 PM TSTM WND GST 5 N JACKSON 43.70N 94.99W
07/19/2008 E60 MPH JACKSON MN AMATEUR RADIO
&&
TRMThe Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 30 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.
7 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds, accompanied by large hail, stripped leaves from trees and damaged crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
Large hail, accompanied by damaging winds, damaged crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
Large hail fell at Oak Grove State Park.
Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a 3 foot diameter tree blown down into a street.
A thunderstorm wind gust to 59 mph was measured by an Iowa Department of Transportation sensor.
Thunderstorm winds overturned a construction trailer near the Southern Hills Mall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2008
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: 125048, 125051, 125054, 125055, 125056, 125057, 125058, 125059, 125060, 125063, 125066.