A cold front moved into Iowa during the afternoon of the 3rd into the early morning of the 4th. The atmosphere was capped initially with thunderstorms eventually developing behind the cold front.
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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.
A cold front moved into Iowa during the afternoon of the 3rd into the early morning of the 4th. The atmosphere was capped initially with thunderstorms eventually developing behind the cold front. Elevated storms moved out of Nebraska and into western Iowa. One strong cell moved into the Des Moines CWA and brought quarter and larger size hail to Pocahontas County before weakening. The hail caused crop damage in the area with reports of leaves being stripped from the corn.
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 4, 2:09 AM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 309 AM CDT SAT JUN 4 2011 .SHORT TERM /TODAY/... CHANCE FOR OVERNIGHT PRECIPITATION TO LINGER ACROSS NORTHWESTERN IOWA...WHICH WILL QUICKLY PUSH OUT OF CWA. FRONT WILL CONTINUE PUSHING SOUTHWARD ACROSS STATE THROUGHOUT THE DAY SATURDAY. THIS WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION. DYNAMICS ARE A BIT LACKING THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON...BUT WITH FORCING FROM FRONT...WOULD EXPECT SOME SCATTERED CONVECTION. BEST CHANCE FOR CONVECTION COMES LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AS CAP ERODES AND FRONT STALLS ACROSS SOUTHERN IOWA/NORTHERN MISSOURI. CAPE VALUES OF 2000-3000 J/KG BUILD INTO THE SOUTH. THIS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SHEAR IS MORE MARGINAL...WITH HAIL AND WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREATS. FOCUS COULD BE JUST EAST OF THE CWA...BUT THREAT WILL REMAIN ACROSS SOUTH. EXPECT STORMS TO PERSIST THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD. STORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH PWAT VALUES GENERALLY BETWEEN 1 TO 1.5 INCHES. TEMPERATURES WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER THAN FRIDAY WITH COLD FRONT PUSHING ACROSS CWA. CLOUD COVER WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR COOLER TEMPERATURES. .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... CHALLENGES THIS FORECAST PERIOD WILL BE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND EXTENT OF SOUTH DRIFT PRIOR TO RETURNING TO THE NORTH. SHORT TERM MODELS IN SOME AGREEMENT...BUT DIFFER EVEN MORE ON FORCING ALONG THE BOUNDARY AS IT LIFTS BACK TO THE NORTH OVER THE NEXT 36 TO 48 HOURS. THE NAM IS FARTHER SOUTH THEN THE GFS OR THE GEM OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. WITH LESS TRANSLATION NORTH...THUNDER MORE ENHANCED ON THE GFS WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT GREATER AND MORE NORTHWARD TRANSLATION. THE NAM IS PUSHING THE FRONT BACK SOUTH WITH AN MCS OUTFLOWING BACK SOUTH SUNDAY WHEREAS THE GFS STILL MANAGES TO LIFT THE FRONT NORTH WITH A WEAK UPPER LEVEL WAVE DRIFTING NORTH. FOR NOW...WILL INCLUDE SOME THUNDER IN LATE AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT PERIODS AS LONG AS THE BOUNDARY IS NEAR THE AREA. DIFFICULT TO TIME ANY PARTICULAR EPISODE OUT PAST 24 HOURS FOR NOW...WITH SOME MESOSCALE INFLUENCE PROBABLY ADDING TO THE MODEL UNCERTAINTY. AS FOR SEVERE CHANCES...POSSIBLE TO SEE SOME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH THE RETURN FLOW RIDING OVER THE BOUNDARY...BUT ONCE AGAIN...NOTHING JUMPS OUT FOR ANY PARTICULAR PERIOD. THUS...WILL PROBABLY NEED TO EVALUATE CONDITIONS ON A MORE DAY TO DAY BASIS. SATURDAY NIGHT MIGHT BE ONE SUCH PERIOD AS LOW LEVEL JET IMPINGES ON FRONT WITH POTENTIAL FOR MCS SOUTH AND POTENTIAL FOR HAIL AND WIND THERE. MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT THE FRONT WILL RETREAT NORTH BY MONDAY WITH HOT DOME BACK IN THE PICTURE FOR A FEW DAYS. H850 TEMPS RISE QUICKLY BY MONDAY WITH 22C TO 25C FORECAST DEPENDING ON THE MODEL. HAVE RAISED HIGHS BACK INTO THE LOWER 90S OVER THE AREA WITH SOME MID 90S WEST. TUESDAY LOOKS TO BE THE HOTTER DAY OF THE EARLY WEEK PERIOD WITH HIGHS BACK IN THE MID 90S AGAIN CENTRAL AND WEST. WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR POSSIBLE ADV HEAT CONDITIONS FOR PERHAPS MONDAY AND TUESDAY...THOUGH AT THIS TIME DEW POINTS MAY MIX DOWN IN THE AFTERNOON...KEEPING CONDITIONS BELOW CRITERIA LEVELS. LOOKING AHEAD THE FRONT IS PROGGED TO LIMP ACROSS THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY...RESULTING IN A WIND SHIFT AND COOLER AIR MASS ENTERING THE PICTURE BY WED NIGHT AND THURSDAY. ONCE AGAIN... MODELS TRENDING TOWARD BRINGING THE BOUNDARY BACK NORTH BY THURSDAY EVENING AND FRIDAY WITH A RENEWED CHANCE OF CONVECTION. HAVE NOT CHANGED DAYS 6 AND 7...AS CONSISTENCY WITH NEW MODELS CONTINUES... SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS AND WET PERIOD AS IT LOOKS FOR NOW. SOME DIFFERENCES STILL REMAIN AS TO WHERE THE ZONE OF RAIN WILL SET UP LATER IN THE WEEK...BUT CANNOT DISCOUNT THE TREND. && .AVIATION...04/06Z FRONTAL BOUNDARY NEAR KFOD AND KMCW WITH WINDS NOW MORE WESTERLY...WITH BOUNDARY SLOWLY PROGRESSING SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IOWA THROUGH THE PERIOD. SOME THUNDER ACTIVITY ACROSS CENTRAL NEBRASKA MAY MOVE INTO THE AREA TOWARD SUNRISE...BUT EXPECT IT TO DIMINISH WITH TIME. HAVE MENTIONED IT IN KFOD FOR NOW. OTHERWISE EXPECT MORE WIDESPREAD ACTIVITY ACROSS CENTRAL/SOUTHERN IOWA SATURDAY EVENING IMPACTING MAINLY KDSM AND KOTM. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...AW LONG TERM...REV AVIATION...BEERENDS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1052 PM CDT FRI JUN 3 2011 IAZ004-041015- EMMET- 1052 PM CDT FRI JUN 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT. A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF THE WEST FORK DES MOINES RIVER. PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY. ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN TUESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. THE CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED SATURDAY. IAZ005>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-041015- 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- 1052 PM CDT FRI JUN 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY. ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN TUESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. THE CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED SATURDAY.
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 124 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:21 UTC.
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Half inch diameter hail and two inch tree limbs broken by wind.
Mostly quarter size with a few larger. Crop damage reported.
Pea to quarter size hail reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, June 2011
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: 296560, 296561, 296455.