Lightning struck the waste water plant and the Grease Lightning Lift Station in Fairfield, IA during the evening of September 10.
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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.
Lightning struck the waste water plant and the Grease Lightning Lift Station in Fairfield, IA during the evening of September 10.
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 Sep 10, 2:19 PM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 319 PM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010 .SYNOPSIS... A SCATTERED TO BROKEN LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT IN THE DEEPER MOISTURE FEED OVER CENTRAL IOWA SOUTHWESTWARD INTO NORTHWEST MISSOURI. THE COLD FRONT IS LAGGING BEHIND IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEBRASKA WITH A WEAK SURFACE LOW ALONG THE FRONT IN EASTERN KANSAS. TEMPS BEHIND THE FRONT ARE ACTUALLY WARMER THAN AHEAD AS CLOUD COVER AND PRECIP AHEAD OF THE FRONT RESTRAIN TEMPS. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT THROUGH SATURDAY WITH THE PROGRESSION OF THE FRONT THROUGH THE CWA OVERNIGHT AND TOMORROW...THOUGH QPFS ARE LAGGING BEHIND WHAT IS ALREADY ON RADAR. THE FORECAST FOCUSES ON THE MOISTURE FEED AND AREA OF STORMS MOVING INTO THE WESTERN PART OF THE CWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND SLOWLY PROGRESSING EASTWARD OVERNIGHT NIGHT. EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO REACH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AROUND 12Z...AND SHOWERS TO LINGER IN THE EAST EARLY IN THE DAY SATURDAY. HOWEVER...A GOOD PUNCH OF DRY AIR WILL BRING A QUICK END TO THE PRECIP IN THE WEST BY AROUND SUNRISE AND THE EAST BY MIDDAY. TEMPS TONIGHT WILL BE MODERATED BY THE CLOUD COVER SPREADING ACROSS THE CWA. BUT DRIER AIR OVER THE REGION TOMORROW WILL ALLOW MAX TEMPS TO REBOUND NICELY LEADING TO A NICE DAY. WOLF .LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... NOT A LOT OF CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL PATTERN WITH W/NW OR SEMI-ZONAL FLOW ALOFT PREVAILING THROUGH PD. CWA WILL BE POSITIONED IN/NEAR BAROCLINIC ZONE AND MAIN JET AXIS WITH COLD AIR TO N/E AND WARM AIR TO S/W... THUS POTENTIALLY AN EXTENDED PD OF UNSETTLED WX WITH VERY CHALLENGING FCST WITH RESPECT TO TIMING OF PCPN CHCS AND LOCATION. DPROG/DT OF MOST MEDIUM RANGE MODELS STILL SHOWING LARGE RUN TO RUN VARIANCES ON STRENGTH/TIMING OF FEATURES... THOUGH DPROG/DT OF ECMWF IN PAST 3+ RUNS SHOWS BEST STABILITY AND SO LARGELY FOLLOWED FOR FCST DETAILS. SFC HIGH WILL SETTLE IN SAT NGT AND MUCH OF SUN WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND NEAR SEASONABLE TEMPS. EXPECT TO SEE SOME MID CLOUDS AND POSSIBLY LIGHT SHRA OR SPRINKLES SUN NGT ESPECIALLY NORTH WHERE BEST WARM...MOIST ADVECTION PROGGED AHEAD OF WEAK FRONT. CARRIED SMALL POPS TO COVER THIS... AND CONTINUED IN THE SOUTH ON MON FOR MAINLY AFTN INTO EVE AS SOME EVIDENCE OF BETTER MOISTURE RETURN IN PROXIMITY TO BOUNDARY. FROM HERE IS WHERE THE MODEL DIFFERENCES REALLY BEGIN TO SHOW UP WITH GFS AND GEM SHOWING CANADIAN HIGH DOMINATING THROUGH MIDWEEK AND SUGGEST DRY AND COOL WITH PCPN CHCS NOT TIL MAINLY THU-FRI. 00Z/06Z RUNS OF GFS DIVERGED AND WENT WITH WEAKER HIGH AND MORE PCPN EARLIER BEFORE NOW 12Z RUN BACK TO YESTERDAY/S 12Z RUN OF BEING DRIER. MEANWHILE THE ECMWF PAST 3 RUNS MORE IN LINE WITH 00Z/06Z GFS AND LATEST FEW RUNS OF UK SUGGESTING BOUNDARY NEARBY AND SEVERAL PDS OF OVERRUNNING RAINS TUE-THU... WITH THU BEING MAIN SURGE AS MODELS TRENDING STRONGER WITH MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE AND ATTENDANT COLD FRONT. HAVE UNFORTUNATELY BLANKETED SLIGHT CHC-LOW CHC POPS MUCH OF AREA TUE INTO FRI TIMEFRAME TO COVER POTENTIAL... WHICH LATER SHIFTS WILL NEED TO REFINE AS CONFIDENCE INCREASES ON TIMING/LOCATION. TEMPS OVERALL NEAR SEASONAL NORMS. ..05.. && .AVIATION... MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...WITH THUNDER PROBABLE AT CID AND DBQ. PRECIP MAY ARRIVE LATE ENOUGH AT MLI AND BRL SUCH THAT THE THUNDER THREAT WILL DECREASE. GENERALLY IFR CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT WILL CLEAR QUICKLY SATURDAY MORNING AS THE COLD FRONT EXITS THE AREA AND DRIER AIR ADVECTS INTO THE CWA. WOLF/LEGRO && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. && WOLF/05/LEGRO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 500 AM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-111000- BENTON IA-BUCHANAN IA-BUREAU IL-CARROLL IL-CEDAR IA-CLARK MO- CLINTON IA-DELAWARE IA-DES MOINES IA-DUBUQUE IA-HANCOCK IL- HENDERSON IL-HENRY IA-HENRY IL-IOWA IA-JACKSON IA-JEFFERSON IA- JO DAVIESS IL-JOHNSON IA-JONES IA-KEOKUK IA-LEE IA-LINN IA-LOUISA IA- MCDONOUGH IL-MERCER IL-MUSCATINE IA-PUTNAM IL-ROCK ISLAND IL- SCOTLAND MO-SCOTT IA-STEPHENSON IL-VAN BUREN IA-WARREN IL- WASHINGTON IA-WHITESIDE IL- 500 AM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010 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 THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. NO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED BUT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. 08/NICHOLS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
338 PM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010
IAZ051-052-063-064-076>078-087-088-098-102300-
BENTON-HENRY-IOWA-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KEOKUK-LINN-LOUISA-VAN
BUREN-WASHINGTON-
338 PM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010
...LIGHTNING THREAT INCREASING THROUGH 6 PM...
AT 329 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM NEWTON TO KNOXVILLE TO
CENTERVILLE. THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AROUND 25 MPH.
FREQUENT TO CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN WILL OCCUR WITH THIS LINE OF STORMS.
IF YOU WILL BE OUTDOORS LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY THIS EVENING IN
EAST CENTRAL OR SOUTHEAST IOWA... BE PREPARED FOR THE THREAT OF
LIGHTNING. IF YOU HEAR THUNDER...MOVE IMMEDIATELY TO A STURDY
BUILDING OR CAR UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
LAT...LON 4228 9139 4081 9138 4083 9171 4061 9173
4061 9217 4117 9218 4117 9241 4151 9241
4149 9229 4229 9228
TIME...MOT...LOC 2033Z 256DEG 18KT 4115 9282
WOLFSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
443 PM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010
IAZ087-088-098-MOZ009-010-102315-
VAN BUREN IA-JEFFERSON IA-HENRY IA-CLARK MO-SCOTLAND MO-
443 PM CDT FRI SEP 10 2010
...THUNDERSTORMS WITH LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAIN MOVING IN...
A SMALL AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY DOWNPOURS...GUSTY
WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL IMPACT NORTHEAST MISSOURI AND
SOUTHEAST IOWA THROUGH 6 PM. SOME TRAINING OF THUNDERSTORMS IS
ANTICIPATED ALONG THE IOWA...MISSOURI BORDER...AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES MAY OCCUR IN THIS AREA THROUGH 6 PM.
WHERE HEAVY RAIN OCCURS...EXPECT PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS AND IN
LOW-LYING AREAS...AND RISES IN AREA STREAMS AND CREEKS.
&&
LAT...LON 4060 9236 4061 9220 4115 9219 4116 9160
4051 9181 4049 9237
ERVINThe Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:59 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the waste water plant and the Grease Lightning Lift Station in Fairfield, IA during the evening of September 10. Both locations suffered mechanical and electrical malfunctions.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, September 2010
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: 259767.