A small tornado touched down during the evening of July 16th southwest of Osage (Mitchell County). The tornado damaged three farms along its path where it flipped and damaged a garage, destroyed a barn and damaged house siding from flying debris.
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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 ARX wrote it up.
A small tornado touched down during the evening of July 16th southwest of Osage (Mitchell County). The tornado damaged three farms along its path where it flipped and damaged a garage, destroyed a barn and damaged house siding from flying debris. In addition, several trees and powerlines were downed and crops were damaged.
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 16, 5:25 PM CST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 625 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 243 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 SHORTWAVE THAT BROUGHT THE SHOWERS TO THE REGION TODAY WAS NOW MOVING TOWARDS CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THE SHOWERS ACROSS WESTERN WISCONSIN WILL WANE AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA. MAIN QUESTION IS FOR REDEVELOPMENT ACROSS SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. CLOUDS DECREASING ACROSS WESTERN IOWA WHICH SHOULD ALLOW FOR THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME UNSTABLE. SOME OF THE MESO MODELS WERE DEPICTING ISOLATED CONVECTION THROUGH THE EVENING. WILL CONTINUE WITH SLIGHT CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS ACROSS THIS AREA. WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY MOVING ACROSS THE REGION FRIDAY MORNING...A FEW OF THE MODELS INDICATED A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH. COULD NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SHOWER FRIDAY MORNING...BUT DECIDED TO LEAVE THE FORECAST DRY FOR THE MOMENT. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 243 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 MAIN CONCERN WILL BE THE CONVECTIVE TRENDS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE TODAY INDICATED A SLOWER ARRIVAL OF ANY PRECIPITATION FRIDAY NIGHT. HAVE LOWERED RAIN CHANCES FRIDAY EVENING...CONFINING RAIN CHANCES TO SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND FAR NORTHEAST IOWA. WILL SPREAD THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. MANY COMPLEXITIES TO THE FORECAST ON SATURDAY AS SOME OF THE MESO MODELS HAVE MORNING CONVECTION MOVING ACROSS WESTERN WISCONSIN. THIS COULD HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON AFTERNOON CONVECTION AND HIGH TEMPERATURES. A VERY HOT DAY IS IN STORE WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S. THESE VALUES WILL PRODUCE CAPES OF 3000 TO 4000 J/KG. WIND SHEAR VALUES OF 30 TO 45 KNOTS ALSO NOTED TO SUPPORT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL...ALONG WITH TORRENTIAL RAINS ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LATEST ECMWF MODEL IS QUICKER WITH PUSHING THE FRONT THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY NIGHT. KEPT A SMALL CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 18. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF ANY OF THESE STORMS BECOME SEVERE. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 625 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 CURRENT RADAR SHOWING BULK OF SHOWERS IN ASSOCIATION WITH MID- LEVEL TROUGH PUSHING EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. BREAKS IN CLOUDS AND SURFACE HEATING WAS PRODUCING SOME INSTABILITY AND ISOLATED SHRA/TS ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL MN. INCLUDED A VCTS IN AT KRST UNTIL 03Z THIS EVENING WHEN THINGS ARE EXPECTED TO WANE AFTER SUNSET. ALSO CARRIED VCSH AT KLSE UNTIL 03Z. BIGGER CONCERN WILL BE ON FOG POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT GIVEN VERY MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER AND LIMITED MIXING. THINKING KRST/KLSE WILL BE MAINTAINING IFR CONDITIONS...EVEN SLIPPING INTO LIFR WITH FOG/STRATUS. LOOK FOR THE FOG/STRATUS TO BURN OFF IN THE 15-16Z TIME FRAME FRIDAY AS WINDS TURN MORE WESTERLY ALLOWING DRY AIR TO MIX BOUNDARY LAYER OUT. LOOKS VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE REST OF THE DAY AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE REGION. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT TERM...ECKBERG LONG TERM...ECKBERG AVIATION...DAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 230 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029- 032>034-041>044-053>055-061-171930- MITCHELL-HOWARD-WINNESHIEK-ALLAMAKEE-FLOYD-CHICKASAW-FAYETTE- CLAYTON-WABASHA-DODGE-OLMSTED-WINONA-MOWER-FILLMORE-HOUSTON- TAYLOR-CLARK-BUFFALO-TREMPEALEAU-JACKSON-LA CROSSE-MONROE-JUNEAU- ADAMS-VERNON-CRAWFORD-RICHLAND-GRANT- 230 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...CENTRAL WISCONSIN...NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS WITH AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM OR TWO WILL MOVE ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN MOVE OUT OF THE AREA THIS EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AT TIMES LATER FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHEAST IOWA AND FAR SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN ON SUNDAY SOUTH OF U.S. HIGHWAY 18. A FEW STORMS MAY CONTAIN SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. ADDITIONAL STORMS COULD OCCUR AT TIMES TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE IF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. ECKBERG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 742 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 IAZ008-170145- MITCHELL- 742 PM CDT THU JUL 16 2015 ...FUNNEL CLOUDS POSSIBLE... AT 738 PM CDT...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR ADAMS TO ST. ANSGAR TO NEAR MANLY...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. THESE STORMS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING FUNNELS THAT WERE NOT TOUCHING THE GROUND. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... ST. ANSGAR... RICEVILLE...STACYVILLE...MCINTIRE...BROWNVILLE...PIONEER STATE PARK...LITTLE CEDAR...AND BAILEY. FUNNEL CLOUDS OF THIS NATURE RARELY TOUCH THE GROUND. HOWEVER...IF YOU NOTICE ONE APPROACHING GROUND...SEEK SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING. LAT...LON 4350 9286 4350 9257 4332 9256 4333 9301 TIME...MOT...LOC 0038Z 255DEG 17KT 4353 9278 4337 9295 4325 9315 DAS
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 154 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:34 UTC.
1 tornado, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado briefly touched down southwest of Osage. A garage was flipped, a barn destroyed and house siding damaged by flying debris. Multiple trees were either uprooted or snapped off and powerlines were downed.
A machine shed was set on fire from a lightning strike southeast of New Haven.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 2015Warnings in Iowa, July 2015
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: 580043, 590981.