A lightning strike caused some damage to the HON plant in Muscatine, IA during the evening of March 19.
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 DVN wrote it up.
A lightning strike caused some damage to the HON plant in Muscatine, IA during the evening of March 19.
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 Mar 19, 5:25 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 625 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012 .AVIATION... ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SWING NORTH OVER EASTERN IOWA AND POSSIBLY FAR WESTERN ILLINOIS THROUGH 04Z. THUNDERSTORM CONDITIONS WILL BE BRIEF...BUT COULD LOWER SITES TO IFR CONDITIONS. LINGERING MVFR CIGS COULD END UP BEING MORE WIDESPREAD THAN THE CURRENT OPTIMISTIC VFR FORECAST AFTER STORMS DECREASE IN COVERAGE AFTER 04Z...HOWEVER...DUE TO LOW CONFIDENCE...WILL KEEP A VFR FORECAST GOING. SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL BE GUSTY BETWEEN 15 AND 25 KTS THROUGH 06Z...THEN AROUND 12 KTS OVERNIGHT. TUESDAY MORNING...SOUTH WINDS WILL AGAIN INCREASE AND BECOME GUSTY. THERE WILL ALSO BE CHANCES FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE DAY...BUT CONFIDENCE TOO LOW TO INCLUDE IN FINAL 6+ HOURS OF THE TAFS. ..ERVIN.. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 326 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012/ SYNOPSIS... SKIES HAVE CLEARED ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA AFTER A ROUND OF MORNING THUNDERSTORMS. SUNSHINE AND THE LINGERING LATE SPRING- LIKE AIRMASS HAS RESULTED IN TEMPERATURES AGAIN SURGING INTO THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S OVER MOST OF THE AREA. A CONVECTIVELY ENHANCED BOUNDARY HAS SHARPENED UP ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...WHERE TEMPERATURES WERE ONLY IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S ROUGHLY NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM STERLING IL TO INDEPENDENCE IA. THE LARGE SCALE FLOW CONTINUES TO BE DOMINATED BY A DEEP SOUTHERLY FLOW BETWEEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE ROCKIES AND DOWNSTREAM RIDGE OVER THE APPALACHIANS. AREA RADAR MOSAIC INDICATED WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT REACHING FROM THE MO VALLEY INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. A COUPLE MORE ORGANIZED CLUSTERS OF STORMS APPEARED TO BE ANCHORED TO SHORTWAVE IMPULSES EMBEDDED IN THE S-SW FLOW...OVER NORTHEAST MO/SW IA...AND ALSO OVER NORTHEAST OK INTO SW MO. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND TUESDAY... PRIMARY CHALLENGE IS PINNING DOWN THUNDERSTORM CHANCES AS IMPULSES IN THE NEARLY MERIDIONAL FLOW INTERACT WITH A RIBBON OF GULF MOISTURE. WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE RECORD BREAKING WARM TEMPERATURES. 12Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS INDICATED PW VALUES FROM 200 TO 300 PERCENT OF NORMAL FROM THE TX COAST TO THE UPPER MS VALLEY...WITH A LOCAL AREA OF OVER 350 PERCENT OVER EASTERN IA...INTO IL...WI AND MN. THE ACTUAL PW WAS 1.4 INCHES AT DVN. THIS LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO OUR REPORTS OF 1 TO NEARLY 2 INCHES OF RAIN FROM THIS MORNING...AND INDICATES THE POTENTIAL FOR AT LEAST LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WITH IMPENDING THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING THAT APPEAR LIKELY AS THUNDERSTORMS OVER MO SPREAD NORTHWARD INTO THE FORECAST AREA. WILL NOT GO WITH ANY FLOOD HEADLINES AS THE BULK OF THE REGION IS RELATIVELY DRY AND CURRENT TRENDS WILL FAVOR THUNDERSTORMS STAYING OVER MAINLY THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA THAT MISSED THE RAIN THIS MORNING. ALONG THESE LINES...HAVE TRENDED GREATER POPS TONIGHT ACROSS THE WEST CLOSER TO THE APPROACHING SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS CANNOT BE RULED OUT...ESPECIALLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS THE APPROACHING FORCING INTERACTS WITH BOUNDARIES IN THE REGION DURING OUR DIURNAL INSTABILITY MAXIMUM. THIS WOULD MOST LIKELY BE LIMITED TO MARGINAL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS OVER ESPECIALLY THE FAR SW...WHERE SPC HAS A SLIGHT RISK MENTIONED. ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS APPEAR LIKELY INTO TUE AS THE SYNOPTIC FRONT EDGES EASTWARD UNDER THE SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WITH ITS EMBEDDED IMPULSES. THESE CHANCES WILL CONTINUE TO BE GREATER IN THE WEST AND HAVE KEPT POPS TRENDED AS SUCH. WITH THE FRONT REMAINING WELL TO THE WEST...PERSISTENCE WILL BE THE RULE FOR TEMPERATURES. HAVE KEPT LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S AND HIGHS TUESDAY IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. THIS SHOULD CONTINUE THE WEEK-LONG TREND OF THREATENING RECORDS...WHICH ARE INCLUDED IN THE CLIMATE SEGMENT. ..SHEETS.. LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT MONDAY... THE KEY TO TUESDAY NIGHT ON WILL BE HOW THE CONVECTION EVOLVES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. THE IMPLIED LATENT HEAT RELEASE FROM CONVECTION IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY IS TREMENDOUS. THE MODELS ARE STARTING TO RESPOND BY ACCELERATING THE RATE OF OCCLUSION OF THE SYSTEM. THIS ACCELERATION WILL CAUSE THE UPPER LOW TO MOVE MORE QUICKLY TO THE EAST. AS SUCH THE UPPER LOW SHOULD REMAIN WELL SOUTH OF THE AREA AND GO ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSOURI BEFORE TURNING SOUTHEAST. MCS AND LIFT TOOLS COMBINED WITH THE HEAVY RAIN TOOL INDICATES DIURNAL CONVECTION WILL GO INTO TUESDAY EVENING BEFORE ANOTHER MCS MOVES NORTH OUT OF MISSOURI. THE BETTER CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL BE ACROSS THE WESTERN CWFA BUT ONE CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT ISOLATED CONVECTION IN THE FAR EAST. THE TUESDAY NIGHT MCS WILL LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING BEFORE DISSIPATING. DIFFERENTIAL HEATING DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY WILL ALLOW ANOTHER ROUND OF DIURNAL CONVECTION TO FIRE. AGAIN THE BETTER CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL BE ACROSS THE WESTERN CWFA. RECORD WARM MINS AND RECORD HIGHS MAY BE HARDER TO ACHIEVE FOR WEDNESDAY. THE RECORD MAX TEMPERATURES FOR MARCH 21ST ARE IN THE 80S AND PROBABLY NOT REACHABLE. THE RECORD WARM MINS MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACHIEVABLE BASED ON EXPECTED RAINFALL. CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS ON WEDNESDAY WILL LINGER INTO THE EVENING HOURS WITH ANOTHER POSSIBLE MCS IN A WAA WING MOVING THROUGH THE AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. THURSDAY NIGHT ON... MODEL CONSENSUS GIVES CHC TO LIKELY POPS THURS NIGHT/FRIDAY WITH CHC POPS FRI NIGHT/SATURDAY. THESE POPS WILL LIKELY CHANGE AS THE MODELS CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE THE OCCLUSION AND EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THE UPPER LOW. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER BUT STILL ABOVE NORMAL. QUIET AND DRY CONDITIONS SHOULD BE SEEN SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW DEPARTS THE AREA AND AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE MIDWEST. THERE ARE SOME WEAK VORT MAXES PROGGED TO TOP THE RIDGE ON SUNDAY. IF THERE IS SUFFICIENT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY PRESENT ONE CANNOT ENTIRELY RULE OUT ISOLATED DIURNAL CONVECTION. SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY GENERALLY QUIET CONDITIONS SHOULD BE SEEN ACROSS THE AREA. .08.. CLIMATE... RECORD HIGHS FOR TODAY MARCH 19TH BURLINGTON........79 IN 1921 CEDAR RAPIDS......80 IN 1921 DUBUQUE...........77 IN 1921 MOLINE............78 IN 1921+ RECORD HIGHS FOR MARCH 20TH BURLINGTON........78 IN 1921 CEDAR RAPIDS......76 IN 1938 DUBUQUE...........77 IN 1921 MOLINE............77 IN 1921 RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES FOR TODAY MARCH 19TH... MOLINE.........63 IN 1921 DUBUQUE........49 IN 1910 RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES FOR MARCH 20TH... MOLINE.........48 IN 1918 DUBUQUE........42 IN 1910 RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES FOR MARCH 21ST... MOLINE.........54 IN 1894 DUBUQUE........52 IN 1938 RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURES FOR MARCH 22ND... MOLINE.........56 IN 1907 DUBUQUE........49 IN 1907 && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. && ERVIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 347 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-202100- 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- 347 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012 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...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE OUTLOOK AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS MAINLY SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM BELLE PLAINE THROUGH BURLINGTON IOWA...TO MACOMB ILLINOIS. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL... WHICH COULD LEAD TO MINOR FLOODING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER MOST OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT LIKELY...BUT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM COMBINED WITH WARM TEMPERATURES AND A MOIST ATMOSPHERE WILL BRING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING. EVENT TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS MAY RANGE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES FROM TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THERE IS A LOW CHANCE THAT SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SHEETS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
535 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0529 PM HEAVY RAIN 3 ENE MASSBACH 42.27N 90.06W
03/19/2012 M1.20 INCH JO DAVIESS IL TRAINED SPOTTER
FROM RAIN THAT MOVED THROUGH THE AREA THIS MORNING,
&&
DCSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
537 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012
IAZ087-098-099-ILZ034-MOZ009-010-200000-
VAN BUREN IA-LEE IA-JEFFERSON IA-HANCOCK IL-CLARK MO-SCOTLAND MO-
537 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012
...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL...
THROUGH 7 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL WILL MOVE OVER FAR
NORTHEAST MISSOURI AND SOUTHEAST IOWA...AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL
ILLINOIS. WHILE INDIVIDUAL STORMS WILL BE SHORT LIVED...THEY WILL
MOVE OVER THE SAME AREAS SEVERAL TIMES...POSSIBLY RESULTING IN
RAINFALL OVER 1 INCH.
DUE TO THE HEAVY RAIN RATES...EXPECT PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS AND
IN LOW-LYING AREAS.
&&
LAT...LON 4019 9149 4024 9151 4025 9195 4029 9196
4030 9196 4030 9235 4060 9236 4061 9219
4109 9218 4087 9171 4081 9172 4082 9160
4048 9090 4019 9090
ERVINPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
628 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0626 PM HEAVY RAIN CAMANCHE 41.79N 90.28W
03/19/2012 M0.00 INCH CLINTON IA CO-OP OBSERVER
FROM RAIN EARLY MONDAY MORNING.
&&
DCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
629 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0626 PM HEAVY RAIN CAMANCHE 41.79N 90.28W
03/19/2012 M1.20 INCH CLINTON IA CO-OP OBSERVER
FROM RAIN EARLY MONDAY MORNING.
&&
DCSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 700 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012 IAZ040>042-051>054-064>068-ILZ015-024>026-200200- BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-JOHNSON-CEDAR- CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-ROCK ISLAND-MERCER-HENDERSON-WARREN- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...INDEPENDENCE...MANCHESTER...DUBUQUE... VINTON...CEDAR RAPIDS...ANAMOSA...MAQUOKETA...IOWA CITY... TIPTON...CLINTON...MUSCATINE...BETTENDORF...DAVENPORT...MOLINE... ROCK ISLAND...ALEDO...OQUAWKA...MONMOUTH 700 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2012 ...FAST MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS... A SMALL LINE OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...FROM AROUND WATERLOO...TO IOWA CITY TO TO BURLINGTON...WILL RAPIDLY MOVE NORTH THROUGH 830 PM. EXPECT A SHORT PERIOD OF GUSTY WINDS TO AROUND 45 MPH AS THE STORMS PASS THROUGH...ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. ..ERVIN..
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike caused some electrical damage to the HON plant in Muscatine, IA during the evening of March 19. Power to the plant was knocked out and smoke was observed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, March 2012
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: 373225.