A cold front in central Iowa sparked some showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13th. A few of the stronger storms surpassed severe thresholds producing large hail.
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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 DVN wrote it up.
A cold front in central Iowa sparked some showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13th. A few of the stronger storms surpassed severe thresholds producing large hail.
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 May 13, 2:31 PM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 331 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 .DISCUSSION UPDATE... NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE SINCE THE PRIOR ISSUANCE OF THE AFD AT 1230 PM. WE CONTINUE TO WATCH FOR THE WEAKENING CAP OVER THE AREA TO BREAK IN ADVANCE OF THE POTENT COLD FRONT. LOW LEVEL WINDS REMAIN BACKED OVER THE AREA...AND COMBINED WITH SURFACE TEMPS IN THE 70S AND DEWPOINTS IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S...A TORNADO THREAT EXISTS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. SHOULD THE BOUNDARY LIFT FARTHER NORTH...A LOW TORNADO THREAT COULD REACH UP TO HIGHWAY 20 EARLY THIS EVENING...BUT THIS IS UNLIKELY. ...ERVIN... ...WE WILL KEEP THINGS RATHER SHORT TODAY DUE TO THE FOCUS ON SHORT TERM MESOSCALE TRENDS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS. THE COLD FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE WAVE ALONG IT ARE OVER WESTERN IOWA AS OF NOON...WITH SCATTERED AREAS OF SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS STILL FIRING UP ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST MO...SOUTHEAST IA...AND ALL OF ILLINOIS. THIS ACTIVITY IS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT...WHICH AS OF NOON CONTINUES TO BE POSITIONED OVER FAR NORTHERN MO...THROUGH CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THE COLD FRONT...AND A STRONG UPPER LEVEL WAVE WILL FORCE ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS LATER THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SEVERE WIND GUSTS POSSIBLE IN ANY LOCATION THAN CAN DESTABILIZE. FOR AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT...A SUFFICIENTLY UNSTABLE BOUNDARY LAYER...AND STRONGLY SHEARED LOW LEVELS AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL PROVIDE FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL. THIS MAY IMPACT OUR SOUTHERN 1/3 OF THE CWA...BUT THIS WILL ALL DEPEND ON MESOSCALE TRENDS OVER THE NEXT 6 HOURS. WE WILL WATCH THIS POTENTIAL VERY CAREFULLY...AND A QUICK UPDATE TO INCREASE OR DECREASE SEVERE WEATHER RISKS IS LIKELY BY LATE AFTERNOON. THE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LOOKS TO BE ON THE ORDER OF 0.5 TO 1.0 INCHES...WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO BRING RISES ON SOME RIVERS...AND SHOULD FURTHER AGGRAVATE FLOODING ON THE ROCK RIVER. LATER TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY LOOKS VERY PLEASANT AND QUIET. THIS IS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER VERY SIMILAR STORM SYSTEM FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. A WARM FRONT WILL APPROACH...THEN A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE SHOULD COMBINE WITH THE COLD FRONT TO BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS. SEVERE STORMS APPEAR POSSIBLE...AS DOES HEAVY RAINFALL. AFTER TONIGHT...OUR ATTENTION WILL FOCUS STRONGLY ON THIS POTENTIAL EVENT. FURTHER OUT...THE WEEKEND CONTINUES TO LOOK PLEASANTLY COOL...FOLLOWED BY A SOLID WARMING TREND AS MODELS NOW SHIFT A ZONAL FLOW REGIME OVER THE MIDWEST...WITH THE CORNBELT WELL INTO THE MILD AIR. 70S ARE LIKELY...80S ARE POSSIBLE. ...ERVIN... && .AVIATION... WIDESPREAD IFR AND LOCAL LIFR CONDITIONS NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON ACROSS EASTERN IA AND NW IL TERMINALS. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE AT BRL...WHERE THE PASSAGE OF THE BOUNDARY WILL LIKELY LIFT CIGS INTO VFR EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON. ALL SITES WILL LIKELY SEE SLOWLY LIFTING CIGS AS THE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP FROM MID TO LATE AFTERNOON ALONG THE ADVANCING COLD FRONT CURRENTLY IN NW IA. HAVE TEMPO GROUPS FOR THUNDERSTORMS FROM MID AFTERNOON INTO EVENING AT MOST SITES...WITH POTENTIAL ENDING AFTER SUNSET. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF A SQUALL LINE FORMING ALONG THIS ADVANCING FRONT WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...BUT THIS POTENTIAL TOO LOW TO INCLUDE HIGH WIND GUSTS IN FORECASTS. WINDS WILL VEER TO NW THIS EVENING WITH VFR CONDITIONS INTO THU. ..SHEETS.. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. ERVIN/SHEETS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 122 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-141000- 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- 122 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 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...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ALL THE OUTLOOK AREA IN A SLIGHT RISK WITH LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A STERLING ILLINOIS TO DAVENPORT IOWA TO KEOSAUQUA IOWA LINE IN A MODERATE RISK. A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. AN AREA OF CLEARING HAS DEVELOPING OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST IOWA...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO WARM INTO THE 70S. THERE IS NOW THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...WITH DAMAGING WINDS ALONG A SQUALL LINE AS THE COLD FRONT PASSES BY. IN ADDITION...SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST IOWA...NORTHEAST MISSOURI...AND WESTERN ILLINOIS. ANY SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ISOLATED TORNADOES THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. THE MOST FAVORED AREA FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS WILL BE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH IS LIKELY TO BRING RISES TO AREA RIVERS...AND COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING IN AREAS THAT SAW HEAVY RAINS LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LIKELY WITH THE MAIN THREAT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34 BUT THIS IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ERVIN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
522 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0521 PM HAIL S BELLE PLAINE 41.90N 92.27W
05/13/2009 E0.25 INCH BENTON IA CO-OP OBSERVER
&&
LEGROPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
534 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 PM HEAVY RAIN 1 SSW BELLE PLAINE 41.89N 92.28W
05/13/2009 M1.30 INCH BENTON IA TRAINED SPOTTER
BETWEEN 5 AND 530 PM. STILL RAINING.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
606 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0602 PM HEAVY RAIN 1 SSE CEDAR RAPIDS 41.95N 91.66W
05/13/2009 M1.00 INCH LINN IA TRAINED SPOTTER
NEARLY 1 INCH OF RAIN IN THE PAST 8 MINUTES.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
610 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0608 PM HAIL WILLIAMSBURG 41.67N 92.01W
05/13/2009 E0.25 INCH IOWA IA TRAINED SPOTTER
MAINLY BB SIZE HAIL. VERY HEAVY RAIN SINCE 6 PM.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
611 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0609 PM HAIL 4 E WHAT CHEER 41.41N 92.28W
05/13/2009 E0.25 INCH KEOKUK IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
LEGROSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 619 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 IAZ051>053-063>065-067-076>078-140045- JONES IA-BENTON IA-LINN IA-CEDAR IA-IOWA IA-JOHNSON IA-MUSCATINE IA- WASHINGTON IA-KEOKUK IA-LOUISA IA- 619 PM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 ...VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH STORMS... AT 610 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STORMS FROM COGGON TO OLLIE. RAINFALL RATES OF OVER 1 INCH IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS. SOME CITIES AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS ARE CEDAR RAPIDS...IOWA CITY ...AND WASHINGTON. MINOR STREET FLOODING OF THESE STORMS IS LIKELY FROM THESE STORMS IN URBAN AND LOW LYING AREAS. IF YOU ENCOUNTER WATER ON A ROAD...TURN AROUND AND FIND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. LAT...LON 4221 9091 4122 9115 4116 9242 4219 9184
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 194 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:29 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail the size of a quarter fell about 10 miles southwest of Memphis, MO around 630 pm on May 13. It lasted for 3 to 4 minutes. Time estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, May 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: 170032.