A strong cold front was sweeping through the state as an upper level wave moved through the region. The front was located stretching across portions of northwest and west central Iowa by late afternoon into the early evening hours.
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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 strong cold front was sweeping through the state as an upper level wave moved through the region. The front was located stretching across portions of northwest and west central Iowa by late afternoon into the early evening hours. Scattered showers and thunderstorms had developed along and ahead of the frontal boundary throughout the late afternoon hours. One of the storms produced a funnel cloud in the Lytton area of Sac County.
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 May 29, 2:19 PM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 319 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT/... ISSUED AT 318 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 SCATTERED STORMS IN PROGRESS ACROSS THE NORTHERN/EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA IN ADVANCE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT EXPECTED TO SWEEP THROUGH THE STATE OVERNIGHT. THE COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY SITUATED ACROSS SW MINNESOTA...SE SD INTO NRN NE...AND SHOULD PUSH INTO THE NORTHWESTERN PORTION OF THE DMX CWA BY 00Z. DECENT CAPE IN PLACE AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WITH LITTLE SHEAR TO WORK WITH SO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER NOT ANTICIPATED. AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE INTO THE EVENING HOURS WITH ANY ACTIVITY ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. OTHERWISE INSTABILITY TO WANE TOWARD LATE EVENING...WITH SOME POST-FRONTAL LIGHT SHOWERS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CWA LATE TONIGHT AS A WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH ALOFT. LOW STRATUS AND BREEZY WINDS ALSO EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT...WITH TEMPS DROPPING INTO THE 40S AND 50S. .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... ISSUED AT 318 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 MAIN CHALLENGES IN THE SHORT RANGE WILL BE THE DEPARTURE OF TONIGHTS SYSTEM ALONG WITH COOL FALL-LIKE TEMPERATURES ON THE WAY FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS. OVER THE ENTIRE EXTENDED THE PATTERN REMAINS SIMILAR WITH MORE ENERGY FROM THE PACIFIC WITH AN EVENTUAL WARMING TREND. TONIGHTS SYSTEM WILL LINGER A BIT LONGER SATURDAY MORNING AS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND SHEAR ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE CLOUD COVER AND CHANCES FOR LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS OVER THE SOUTHEAST THROUGH LATE MID TO LATE MORNING. UPSTREAM AIRMASS RATHER INDICATIVE OF MID SEPTEMBER OR MID MARCH WITH H850 TEMPS ONLY RECOVERING TO 4 TO 6C BY 00Z SUNDAY. CLOUDS LIKELY TO HOLD FOR MUCH OF THE DAY... LIMITING HIGHS TO THE 60 TO 64 DEGREE MARK...WITH A FEW AREAS STRUGGLING TO MAKE 60. THIS IS WITHIN 5 TO 6 DEGREES OF RECORD LOW MIN HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR THE DAY IN SOME CASES. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL ADD TO THE COOL CONDITIONS. FINALLY BY SATURDAY EVENING... CLOUDS CLEAR REGION WIDE WITH RATHER COOL OVERNIGHT MINS. THOUGH NO CHANCE FOR FROST...LOWER TO MID 40S WILL BE COMMON WITH LARGER URBAN AREAS IN THE MID TO UPPER 40S. BY SUNDAY THE SURFACE RIDGE WILL BE SLOWLY DRIFTING EAST WITH LEE SIDE TROUGHING BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN NEBRASKA. OVERALL THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS LIKELY TO BUILD AND REMAIN OUT OF PHASE WITH THE SFC FEATURES... LIMITING PRECIPITATION CHANCES OVER OUR REGION UNTIL ROUGHLY MID WEEK WHEN THE RIDGE FLATTENS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ON THE INCREASE AS H500 HEIGHT/THICKNESS INCREASES THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH H850 TEMPERATURES RECOVERING FROM THE 5 TO 6C FORECAST ON SUNDAY TO 12 TO 15C BY MIDWEEK. THIS SHOULD BRING HIGHS BACK INTO THE 70S TO LOWER 80S WITH LOWS IN THE 50S TO LOWER 60S. THERE CONTINUES TO BE SOME RUN TO RUN INCONSISTENCY REGARDING THE TIMING OF THE RETURN OF MOISTURE NEXT WEEK. MODEL CONSENSUS PLACES A WEAK WAVE AND SOME LIFT INTO OUR AREA BY LATE TUESDAY OR TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY WITH INCREASING CHANCES FOR SOME ADDITIONAL THUNDER FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. WILL INTRODUCE SOME POP AT THIS TIME TO COVER THE CHANCE FOR INCREASING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE PERIOD. ACTIVITY SHOULD REMAIN WIDELY SCATTERED AS FORCING WILL BE MAINLY MESOSCALE IN NATURE UNTIL LATER IN THE PERIOD ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. OUTSIDE OF PULSE STORMS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS...THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER LOOKS LOW THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY. && .AVIATION...29/18Z ISSUED AT 118 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AROUND CURRENTLY WITH ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS THE NORTH AND SOUTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON AND IMPACT MOST SITES THROUGH THIS EVENING AS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE STATE TONIGHT. SOME MVFR/LOW VFR CIGS AROUND AND EXPECT ALL MVFR CONDITIONS BY LATE TONIGHT WITH STRATUS BEHIND THE FRONT. STRATUS WILL LINGER INTO SATURDAY...BUT IS EXPECTED TO LIFT SOME AND START TO BREAK UP TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD. WINDS TO SHIFT AROUND TO THE NORTHWEST BEHIND THE FRONT...AND PICK UP TO BECOME BREEZY. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BEERENDS LONG TERM...REV AVIATION...BEERENDS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 322 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075- 081>086-092>097-301000- EMMET-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- 322 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...BUT OVERALL THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER IS LOW. BRIEF DAMAGING WIND WOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT IF SOMETHING DID MATERIALIZE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY A FEW STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN TO THE FORECAST LATE TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL IS LOW AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE BRIEFLY NEEDED THIS EVENING. MJB
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 420 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 IAZ007-017-292330- WORTH-CERRO GORDO- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NORTHWOOD...MANLY...MASON CITY... CLEAR LAKE 420 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING ACROSS THE AREA... A FEW STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING ACROSS FAR NORTHERN IOWA. THE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH RATES OF A HALF INCH PER HOUR. SOME SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS COULD ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH AND SHOULD EXIT THE AREA BY 5 PM BUT ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY EVENING. FAB
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 426 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 IAZ027-028-038-039-292330- BUTLER-BREMER-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PARKERSBURG...CLARKSVILLE... SHELL ROCK...GREENE...APLINGTON...ALLISON...DUMONT...WAVERLY... GRUNDY CENTER...REINBECK...CONRAD...DIKE...WELLSBURG...WATERLOO... CEDAR FALLS 426 PM CDT FRI MAY 29 2015 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL ARE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA... A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH ACROSS NORTHEAST IOWA. THE STRONGER STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. RAINFALL RATE ON THE ORDER OF A HALF AN INCH PER HOUR ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG WITH STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH STRONGER STORMS. IF STORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA MOVE INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM PASSES AND BE PREPARED FOR HEAVY RAINFALL. FAB
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:55 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A brief funnel cloud came down and then retreated upwards. The funnel cloud was observed by the Calhoun County Sheriff.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 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: 568471.