A cluster of thunderstorms produced hail and wind, which damaged crops in the late evening of July 14.
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 ARX wrote it up.
A cluster of thunderstorms produced hail and wind, which damaged crops in the late evening of July 14.
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 Jul 14, 1:42 PM CST, 9 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 242 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 .SHORT TERM...THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT MUCH OF THE TIME SPENT WITH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE TONIGHT AND ASSOCIATED SEVERE WEATHER RISK/RAIN CHANCES. OTHER TIME SPENT ON BREEZY WINDS/LOWER DEWPOINTS WED/THURS...AND STRONG COOLING COMING IN FOR THURS NIGHT/FRI...WITH PERHAPS SOME RECORD LOW MAX TEMPS FOR FRIDAY. CURRENTLY...GOES WATER VAPOR SHOWS POTENT SHORTWAVE SHIFTING THROUGH ND/SASK/MANITOBA WITH IMPRESSIVE JET DIGGING THROUGH THE BASE OF THE TROUGH. COLD FRONT PER GOES VISIBLE AND OBSERVATIONS JUST EAST OF ABERDEEN/HURON SD LINE AND MOVING STEADILY EAST. MUCH DRIER BEHIND THE FRONT WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 40S/50S AND BREEZY CONDS. CONVECTION HAS RECENTLY INITIATED ALONG THE FRONT NORTHEAST OF HURON SD. ONGOING CONVECTION ALSO IN WRN MN IN EXIT REGION OF JET COINCIDENT WITH STRONG PV/DYNAMICS. WARM SECTOR EAST OF THE COLD FRONT IS MUDDLED WITH AMPLE LOW/MID CLOUDS AND NARROW CAPE AXIS EAST OF THE COLD FRONT TO ABOUT I-35 OR JUST WEST OF THERE. SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER ERN IA/WISC KEEPING DEWPOINTS INT THE 50S TO AROUND 60...AND NO SURFACE INSTABILITY. VERY WEAK WARM FRONT/CONVERGENCE AXIS RUNS FROM NERN SD INTO CNTL IA...WITH A MORE WELL DEFINED WARM FRONT/OUTFLOW BOUNDARY ACROSS NRN MO. WEST OF THE WEAK WARM FRONT FROM NERN SD TO CNTL IA...NARROW CAPE/DEWPOINT AXIS WITH MLCAPE TO 2000 J/KG WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S/LOWER 70S. VWPS AND PROFILER SHOWING STRONG LOW TO MID TROPOSPHERIC FLOW IN PLACE...WITH GENERALLY 40-50KT OF DEEP SHEAR IN PLACE ACROSS MN/IA...MORE FURTHER NORTH. MUCH OF THIS IN THE LOWEST 3KM WITH STRONG SPEED/DIRECTIONAL SHEAR. TONIGHT...SEVERAL THINGS TO HAPPEN. FIRST...AS MOISTURE TRANSPORT CONTINUES TO INCREASE DOWNSTREAM OF SHORTWAVE TROUGH...EXPECT WRN/CNTL MN STORM CLUSTER TO CONTINUE TO GROW AS IT EXPANDS EAST/NORTHEAST INTO NWRN/WCNTL WISC. THIS COULD BRING AN ELEVATED STORM THREAT INTO OUR NRN COUNTIES EARLY THIS EVENING WHICH WOULD LIKELY BE SUB-SEVERE...BUT MAY BE STRONG NONETHELESS. PRIMARY ATTENTION HOWEVER WILL BE ON SWRN MN/NWRN IA AHEAD OF COLD FRONT WHICH SHOULD EITHER CONVECT OR SEE LINE SEGMENT FROM ERN DAKOTAS MOVE IN AND UPSCALE INTO STRONG SEVERE MCS. WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR DISCRETE/CELLULAR DEVELOPMENT OUT AHEAD OF THIS MORE TIED TO THE WEAK WARM FRONT MOVING INTO THE I-35 CORRIDOR EARLY THIS EVENING...WITH BACKED SELY FLOW COULD PRODUCE A LOW END SUPERCELL THREAT. NO MODELS REALLY CONVECTING THIS BOUNDARY HOWEVER AND SBCINH IS CURRENTLY HIGH. THINK OUR BETTER POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE COMES WITH ADVANCING FRONTAL ZONE AND DEVELOPING LINE SEGMENTS/LINEAR SYSTEM. 0-3KM SHEAR VECTOR NORMAL TO THE FRONT COULD SUPPORT A COLD POOL-DOMINATED WIND PRODUCING SYSTEM..BUT...INSTABILITY SUGGESTS HIGHER END WIND EVENT MAY EVOLVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH IOWA INTO HIGHER THETA-E INSTABILITY. THIS MAY AFFECT NERN IA BUT CONFIDENCE IN A WIDESPREAD AND/OR SIG SEVERE EVENT JUST NOT THAT HIGH. SPC PROBABILITIES FOR SEVERE HAVE BEEN SHIFTING WEST AND LOWERING ALL DAY...AND MORE SUBTLE SREF TREND /CALIBRATED/ ALSO SEEN DOING THIS. THERE INDICATIONS /LOCALLY RUN NESTED ARW-WRF AT 4 KM/ THAT LINEAR SYSTEM OVER SWRN MN THIS EVENING SPLITS WITH NRN SEGMENT TIED TO PV/JET SCOOTING NORTH OF THE AREA...AND SRN BRANCH OF MCS REALLY TAKING OFF INTO IOWA AND POINTS SOUTH/EAST...WITH SCT/BKN ELEVATED CLUSTERS CROSSING AREA OVERNIGHT. NO EASY SOLUTION HERE...AND GIVEN FORCING SIGNALS AND TRENDS...WILL MAINTAIN LOW-END LIKELY RAIN CHANCES AND EMPHASIZE SEVERE TRENDS IN THE WEST BEFORE CAPE DIMINISHES RATHER SUBSTANTIALLY OVERNIGHT. BIG MOISTURE TRANSPORT FOCUS INTO THE NRN MO OUTFLOW BOUNDARY MAY INITIATE LARGE MCS HERE...WHICH MAY DISRUPT MOISTURE TRANSPORT INTO US AS THE NIGHT WEARS ON. WED-THURS...FRONT SURGES OUT OF THE AREA EARLY WED MORNING WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS DEVELOPING THROUGH THE DAY. MIXING WILL SUPPORT TAKING DEWPOINTS OUT OF THE 60S /MORNING/ WELL INTO THE 50S AND PERHAPS EVEN SOME UPPER 40S. SKIES SHOULD CLEAR AFTER SOME MORNING CUMULUS...WITH MIXING ALLOWING TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 70S/LOWER 80S. SKIES REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR WED NIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE 50S. SECONDARY SHORTWAVE DIGS INTO EVOLVING UPPER TROUGH ON THURSDAY AND DRIVES SECONDARY COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA. SOME FRONTOGENESIS FORCING IN THE MID LEVELS WITH THIS WAVE AND A FEW DETERMINISTIC RUNS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO BRING A BAND OF SHRA THROUGH IOWA ON THURSDAY IN THIS FORCING. HAVE KEPT THE FORECAST DRY VIA INPUT FROM HPC/ECMWF AND ENSEMBLE TRENDS...BUT NEEDS TO BE WATCHED ESPECIALLY NERN IA. IN WAKE OF THIS WAVE/COLD FRONT...ANOMALOUSLY COLD FOR MID JULY AIRMASS SINKS SOUTH INTO THE AREA WITH TEMPERATURES REALLY STRUGGLING AND LIKELY NOT HITTING 70 IN MOST AREAS. STANDARDIZED ANOMALIES FOR 850MB TEMPS BY LATER FRI AFTERNOON A SOLID 2 SIGMA BELOW CLIMATOLOGY...WHICH STRONGLY SUGGESTS A POTENTIAL FOR RECORD COLD HIGH TEMPS FOR FRIDAY PARTICULARLY IN WISCONSIN WHERE CLOUDS SHOULD BE MORE WIDESPREAD AND COLD POOL THE DEEPEST. TRENDED HIGHS DOWN ON FRIDAY...BUT FEAR MORE IS NEEDED. INTRODUCED A SMALL SHRA CHANCE IN CNTL WISC WITH NEXT SHORTWAVE DIGGING AROUND THE CYCLONE DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ANOMALOUS UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES WILL CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE THE WEATHER WELL INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS. SOLUTIONS HAVE TRENDED TOWARD A SLOWER/DEEPER UPPER TROUGH WHICH MAKES SENSE GIVEN THE AMPLIFIED/HOT WESTERN RIDGE EXTENDING NORTH THROUGH THE ROCKIES. THIS MAY DELAY SIGNIFICANT WARMING UNTIL SUNDAY...AND SATURDAY TEMPERATURES MAY NEED TO BE BROUGHT DOWN. ALSO...GIVEN 500MB HEIGHTS/850MB TEMPS IN WISCONSIN RUNNING AROUND 2 SIGMA BELOW MID JULY CLIMATOLOGY...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES MAY COME INTO THE PICTURE AT SOME POINT FOR SOME LOCATIONS SAT MORNING IF CLOUDS ARE AT MINIMUM AND A STRONG INVERSION CAN BE BUILT. SUNDAY- TUES...THERE/S DIFFERING AGREEMENT ON NEXT UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE OUT OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO THE NRN PLAINS/SRN CANADA. ECMWF DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE RUNS HAVE BEEN INSISTENT ON A QUICKER PROGRESSION HERE...WHICH WOULD DRIVE A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY/RAIN CHANCES INTO THE AREA BY MONDAY/TUESDAY. GFS RUNS...WITH STRONG SUPPORT FROM THEIR ENSEMBLE MEANS AND UKMET RUNS...HAVE TRENDED A FULL 24-36 HOURS SLOWER WITH THIS FEATURE...WITH SOME AGREEMENT HERE AS WELL FROM THE GEM. NEW HPC GUIDANCE FROM NCEP SLOWS DOWN THE EURO TIMING A BIT...SO WE WENT THIS DIRECTION AS A COMPROMISE AT THIS POINT...WHICH BRINGS RAIN CHANCES IN MONDAY NIGHT AND HITS TUESDAY A LITTLE HARDER. PERIOD WILL FEATURE SLOW WARMING BACK TOWARD NORMAL. && .AVIATION...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY A COLD FRONT WILL PRODUCE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AS IT MOVES EAST ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA BETWEEN 15.00Z AND 15.06Z...AND WESTERN WISCONSIN BETWEEN 15.03Z AND 15.09Z. A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL EAST OF A LAKE CITY MINNESOTA TO WEST UNION IOWA LINE. IN ADDITION TO THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT...CEILINGS SHOULD FALL INTO THE 2-3K RANGE BETWEEN 15.02Z AND 15.12Z. AS DRY AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY MORNING...CEILINGS SHOULD QUICKLY CLIMB INTO THE VFR RANGE. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...BINAU AVIATION...BOYNE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 749 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-151100- ALLAMAKEE-CHICKASAW-CLAYTON-DODGE-FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-HOUSTON- HOWARD-MITCHELL-MOWER-OLMSTED-WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 749 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL EXPECTED OVERNIGHT...HOWEVER WIDESPREAD SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. A FRONT IS APPROACHING THE AREA WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS ALONG IT IN SOUTHCENTRAL MINNESOTA. THE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD EAST INTO SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS CANNOT BE RULED OUT...WITH THE MAIN THREAT DAMAGING WINDS AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA WOULD BE MORE LOCALIZED THIS EVENING...SHOULD AN ORGANIZED SMALL COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME. WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053>055-061-151100- ADAMS-BUFFALO-CLARK-CRAWFORD-GRANT-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE-MONROE- RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- 749 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE IN OR DEVELOP DURING THE LATE EVENING. INSTABILITY WILL LIKELY BE DIMINISHING...AND AS A RESULT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. FURTHER WEAKENING WOULD OCCUR AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE TOWARD CENTRAL WISCONSIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. WHILE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...STRONG STORMS WITH WINDS TO 30 MPH...PEA-SIZED HAIL...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME. BAUMGARDT
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 905 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 IAZ008-009-018-019-150400- CHICKASAW-FLOYD-HOWARD-MITCHELL- 905 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 ...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING CHICKASAW...FLOYD... HOWARD AND MITCHELL COUNTIES... AT 900 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A COMPLEX OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING INTERSTATE 35 NEAR MASON CITY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS MAY ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS. SOME AREAS MAY NEED TO HAVE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS SHOULD THE STORMS BECOME STRONGER. LOCATIONS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED THROUGH 11 PM INCLUDE... OSAGE...ST. ANSGAR...CHARLES CITY...MARBLE ROCK...CRESCO... ELMA...NEW HAMPTON AND NASHUA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHEASTERN IOWA. PREPARE NOW FOR POSSIBLE STRONG TO DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS. MOVE INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. BAUMGARDT
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 1133 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 IAZ029-150530- FAYETTE- 1133 PM CDT TUE JUL 14 2009 ...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING FAYETTE COUNTY... AT 1130 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF FAIRBANK...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...SMALL HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN MAY ACCOMPANY THIS THUNDERSTORM. THE STORM HAS BEEN STRENGTHENING AND MAY NEED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IF IT BECOMES THREATENING. THE STORM WILL BE NEAR... OELWEIN...WESTGATE AROUND 1150 PM... MAYNARD AROUND MIDNIGHT... ARLINGTON AROUND 1210 AM... HIGHWAYS 3 AND 187 AROUND 1220 AM... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHEASTERN IOWA. PREPARE NOW FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER. MOVE INDOORS AND IF A WARNING IS ISSUED...TAKE ACTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. BAUMGARDT
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:47 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous reports of pea to penny size hail were received. There was a one mile swath along X Avenue from Highway 3 to 50th Street where corn was shredded. Gardens in the town of Oran were also shredded due to hail. Torrential rain occurred with the hail.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2009
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: 180070.