A cold front moved over northeast Iowa during the early evening hours of June 27th. A line of isolated severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and produced strong to severe wind gusts.
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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 ARX wrote it up.
A cold front moved over northeast Iowa during the early evening hours of June 27th. A line of isolated severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and produced strong to severe wind gusts.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 27, 2:55 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 355 PM CDT FRI JUN 27 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT A PRE FRONTAL TROUGH EXTENDED FROM BAUDETTE MINNESOTA TO DES MOINES IOWA. FURTHER WEST...A COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED ACROSS THE EASTERN DAKOTAS LANGDON NORTH DAKOTA TO CHAMBERLAIN SOUTH DAKOTA. THERE IS A WIND SHIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH AND A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG THE TROUGH. AN ADDITIONAL LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING THE COLD FRONT. THE ARX MESOWRF SUGGESTS THAT THE COLD FRONT WILL CATCH UP WITH THE PRE FRONTAL TROUGH AND THEN THIS LINE WILL MOVE THROUGH OUR AREA THIS EVENING. WHILE THE 0-6KM SHEAR LOOKS SUFFICIENT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS... THERE IS SOME QUESTION ON HOW MUCH INSTABILITY WILL BE AVAILABLE WITH THE CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION ALREADY ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA. WITH LIMITED CURVATURE IN THE HODOGRAPH...ANY SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE PRIMARILY DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. IT APPEARS THAT THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT SHOULD BE OVER BY 10 PM. ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST AND EAST THROUGH THE AREA. THIS SYSTEM IS 2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS DEEPER THAN NORMAL... AND ITS 850 MB AND 700 MB TEMPERATURES COLDER THAN NORMAL. WITH VERY COLD AIR ALOFT...STEEP SURFACE TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. AS A RESULT...WE WILL LIKELY SEE A RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF CLOUDS...AND SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL BE MOST WIDESPREAD FROM THE AFTERNOON INTO EVENING. SOME HAIL MAY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS IN THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. ON SUNDAY...THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL BE MOVING EAST OF THE AREA. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH INSTABILITY STILL AROUND FOR SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. NONE OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE SEVERE. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH INDEPENDENCE DAY THE 200 MB VELOCITY POTENTIAL ANOMALIES CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG TROPICAL FORCING ACROSS THE EASTERN PACIFIC AND CARIBBEAN...AND ACROSS THE EASTERN ATLANTIC AND AFRICA. THE FORMER FORCING KEEPS A LONG WAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE EASTERN UNITED STATES...AND A RIDGE ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES THROUGH THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST. THE 27.12Z MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THIS PATTERN WILL CONTINUE. HOWEVER THE MODELS ARE DIFFERING ON THE SPEED OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL BE MOVING SOUTH THROUGH THE REGION. WITH THE 27.00Z ECMWF AND 27.12Z GFS IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT THAT THE COLD FRONT WOULD PROVIDE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...THE PRECIPITATION WAS CONFINED TO THOSE TIME PERIODS. HOWEVER IT LOOKS LIKE WE WILL HAVE TO RE-EVALUATE THIS FURTHER TOMORROW... BECAUSE THE 27.12Z ECMWF SHOWS THAT THIS FRONT WILL STALL OUT ACROSS THE REGION...AND IT PROVIDE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH AT LEAST INDEPENDENCE DAY. THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THE 27.06Z GFS SHOWED. && .AVIATION...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY CONCERN TO AVIATION WILL BE STRONG COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHIFTING ACROSS THE TAF SITES THROUGH EARLY EVENING. SCT -TSRA WILL SLOWLY INCREASE IN COVERAGE/ORGANIZATION THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING AS THEY SHIFT OVER THE SITES. COULD SEE SOME WIND GUSTS TO 45KT OR SO IF LINEAR STORM MODE IS REALIZED. HAIL NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION IN THE STRONGEST STORMS. EXPECT MODERATE WNWLY WINDS IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT FROM 8-13 KTS THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT. STRONG SECONDARY WEATHER SYSTEM ALOFT FOR SATURDAY SET TO BRING QUICK INCREASE IN CUMULUS/SHRA AS RAPID DESTABILIZATION OCCURS WITH COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT. SHRA SHOULD BECOME NUMEROUS AS THE DAYTIME WEARS ON SATURDAY. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && 01/01/01
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 953 AM CDT FRI JUN 27 2008 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-281000- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 953 AM CDT FRI JUN 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT STRONG AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING...AS A COLD FRONT SHIFTS ACROSS THE REGION. THE MAIN WINDOW FOR THE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT THROUGH THE AREA WILL BE BETWEEN 2 PM AND 9 PM. THE MAIN THREATS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND LARGE HAIL. WHILE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CERTAINLY CONTAIN HIGH RAINFALL RATES...THE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE PROGRESSIVE...KEEPING HEAVY RAIN THREATS LOCALIZED. WIDESPREAD FLOODING...OR FLASH FLOODING...IS NOT EXPECTED...THOUGH URBAN AREAS MAY SEE TYPICAL RUNOFF ISSUES AND STREET FLOODING WITH STRONGER STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ISOLATE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED WITH ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY. NEXT...ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT IS TOO EARLY TO DISCERN IF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 2 PM AND 9 PM. RAINFALL REPORTS WOULD ALSO BE APPRECIATED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME. RIECK/BINAU
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
640 PM CDT FRI JUN 27 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM TSTM WND GST 3 W JERICO 43.18N 92.32W
06/27/2008 E50.00 MPH CHICKASAW IA AMATEUR RADIO
&&
BINAUThe La Crosse radar (KARX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:40 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A ham radio operator measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
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: 98763.