Strong warm air advection took place across Iowa during the overnight hours of the 10th into the morning of the 11th. CAPE increased to over 3000 J/kg as the lifted index fell to around -7.
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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 DMX wrote it up.
Strong warm air advection took place across Iowa during the overnight hours of the 10th into the morning of the 11th. CAPE increased to over 3000 J/kg as the lifted index fell to around -7. A strong low level jet of 50 to 60 kts was in place over the state. Thunderstorms formed initially over Kansas, then spread northeast into western Iowa. A wind gust of 65 MPH occurred in Bedford as the storms passed. Mainly, the storms produced very heavy rainfall. In Taylor County, an inch of rain fell in 30 minutes at Gravity. For the most part, the storms produced wind gusts of 30 to 45 MPH and pea to marble size hail. Flash flooding occurred in Crawford County as heavy rains caused the water to rise over the top of U.S. Highway 30. Rainfall of nearly 2 inches in less than an hour caused flash flooding in Bedford. Lightning struck a 20 year old male that was working with his father in their yard, killing him.
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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 10, 11:55 PM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1255 AM CDT WED JUN 11 2008 ...UPDATED FOR AVIATION DISCUSSION... .DISCUSSION... SFC RIDGE MOVG TO THE E OF IA NOW WITH INC SLY FLOW SETTING UP OVER THE PLAINS. STRONG MSTR TRANSPORT ALREADY UNDERWAY AND THETA-E ALREADY SHOWING UP IN CLOUDY FIELD IN ARC FM NEAR KDSM- KFSD LINE. ATTM...DONT THINK THIS WILL FIRE...BUT WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED. EXPECT AN MCS TO DVLP TO THE NW OF THE CWA OVR NGT AND WILL MOVE SEWD INTO AT LEAST NRN IA THU MRNG. STTN GETS COMPLICATED WITH POTENTIAL OUTFLOW BNDRYS FROM THE AM CONVECTION AS WELL AS THE APPROACHING FNTL BNDRY. WITH VERY STRONG TRASNPORT CONT INTO THE FRONT THU NGT, FEEL THE ECMWF AND GFS HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE POSITIONING. PCPN LIKELY OVER DONE AND TONED IT BACK SOME, BUT STILL WENT 1.5 TO 3 INCHES ACROSS THE CWA IN THE NEXT 48 HRS. THATS THE BAD NEWS...THE GOOD NEWS IS THE PATTERN WILL CHANGE AFTER THIS SYSTEM MOVS THROUGH...AT LEAST FOR A WHILE. THE NEXT WEATHER FEATURE IS SLATED TO MOV THRU MON NGT INTO TUE...BUT THAT LOOOKS MORE LIKE A TYPICAL SYSTEM FOR JUNE. RELATIVELY NORMAL WEATHER IS LIKELY TO HOLD THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK BEFORE PTRN STARTS TO RETURN TO A MORE ACTIVE REGIME. FEEL THE ECMWF HAS A MUCH BETTER HANDLE ON THIS. && .AVIATION...11/06Z SE SURFACE WINDS WL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AS PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS. VFR CIGS ARE FORECAST THROUGH THE PERIOD ALTHOUGH SCT MVFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED IN IA WITH THE THREAT OF CONVECTION AFT 12Z. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR AUDUBON-BOONE-BREMER-BUTLER-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CASS- CERRO GORDO-CRAWFORD-DALLAS-EMMET-FRANKLIN-GREENE-GRUNDY-GUTHRIE- HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HARDIN-HUMBOLDT-KOSSUTH-MARSHALL-PALO ALTO- POCAHONTAS-SAC-STORY-WEBSTER-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-WRIGHT. FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR BLACK HAWK. && MS JUN 08/LEE/CC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...RESENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 427 AM CDT WED JUN 11 2008 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075- 081>086-092>097-120930- EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO- POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-SAC-CALHOUN- WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE- BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-JASPER- POWESHIEK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS-UNION- CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE- APPANOOSE-DAVIS- 427 AM CDT WED JUN 11 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ALL OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER CENTRAL IOWA THIS MORNING. LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAINFALL ARE THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE STORMS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AN TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALL POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. NUMEROUS AREAL AND RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS LINGERING ON FRIDAY AND A BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS ON SUNDAY. THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL AT THIS TIME LOOKS TO BE MINIMAL WHILE THE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL HAS YET TO BE DETERMINED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AN EMERGENCY MANAGER CONFERENCE CALL WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR LATER TODAY. FAB
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:57 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was reported over Highway 30 between Dow City and Dunlap, possibly from the Boyer River. Report received from the county Sheriff.
Report from a state RWIS site.
One inch of rain fell in the past 30 minutes.
The Crawford County Sheriff reported that Highway 30 was closed 2 miles southwest of Dow City due to flash flooding.
Rainfall of 1.75 inches was reported in less than an hour, causing extensive street flooding in Bedford. More than 6 inches of water was flowing through streets through the crossing of Highway 148.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Palo Alto | 2008-06-11 | 20 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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, June 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: 93244, 93247, 93245, 93470, 93473, 93475.