A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms, with frequent lightning, a brief tornado, and heavy rain moved across eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois the afternoon and early evening of June 14, 2016. This produced flash flooding over northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois.
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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.
A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms, with frequent lightning, a brief tornado, and heavy rain moved across eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois the afternoon and early evening of June 14, 2016. This produced flash flooding over northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois.
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 Jun 14, 11:35 AM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 1235 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016 ...18Z AVIATION UPDATE... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 356 AM CDT Tue Jun 14 2016 Convection over central into eastern Illinois aided by low amplitude perturbation sliding east of the Mississippi River, as seen in water vapor imagery and 500 mb regional vad wind profilers. Aside from our far eastern counties, radar shows rest of the cwa quiet, for now. Considerably more humid/muggy and warm from 24 hrs ago for most areas. Another backdoor front though is advancing into our northern Illinois counties with dewpoints lowering into the 50s. Regional radars show forward propagating convective system over central Nebraska, with a few other storm clusters extending into the southern Plains. Activity occurring in increasingly diffluent flow ahead of ejecting mid level shortwave from the Rockies. While this wave is progged to pass well to our north next 24 hrs, increasingly diffluent flow aloft and abundant moisture will support increasing storm chances into tonight. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 356 AM CDT Tue Jun 14 2016 Convective trends and severe potential, and clouds/convective debris with impact on temps are the main challenges. Shortwave ejecting from the Rockies will continue e/ne into the Upper Midwest by 12z Wed. Increasingly diffluent flow above low level warm advection along with abundant moisture (PWAT 1.5 to nearly 2 inches) will be favorable for increasing storm chances next 12-18 hours. Today the main convective driver will largely be low level warm advection, with an attempt to bridge gap between departing Illinois storms and forward propagating cluster over Nebraska. Showers and storms will be possible about any time on mainly a scattered basis, though favoring mid morning through afternoon and the central into northern cwa for best coverage as it appears at this time. Late today through this evening is when we will see large scale forcing increasing, thus most favorable time for more widespread activity attendant to increasingly diffluent flow and DPVA. Forcing progs would appear to favor best coverage again across the north 1/3-1/2 of cwa. Severe weather today into this evening is a bit murky with convective debris and warm frontal progression looming large on eventual high temps and subsequent boundary layer destabilization. It would appear as though typical window of late afternoon and evening most favored for any severe potential, with forecast highs well into the 80s to some lower 90s possible, and surface dewpoints in the 60s to lower 70s leading to SBCAPE in excess of 2000 j/kg by late afternoon into early evening. 0-6km bulk shear also increases to 25-30 kts to support some strong to severe storm potential, though lack of upper jet suggests not likely for a lot of severe but environment conducive for potentially a few severe, mainly multicell with gusty wind threat with precip loading and high DCAPE. Limited dry air and high WBZ in excess of 13kft agl would tend to limit hail, outside of a stronger rotating updraft which would have potential for marginal severe hail as supported by Gagne hail and hailcast algorithms via NCAR ensembles. Tornado threat appears low with weak 0-1km shear, but can't be totally ruled out with any boundary interaction. Otherwise, locally heavy rainfall will be another concern with PWAT of 1.5 to nearly 2 inches and warm cloud depths of 11-12kft agl. MBE velocity generally around 10 kts, so anticipate somewhat slower storm motions meaning potential for locally 1-3" of rain. Forcing begins to really wane after 06z through 12z from west to east, with low to mid level flow veering westerly, and have attempted to depict a diminishing trend to pops in this timeframe. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday THROUGH Monday) ISSUED AT 356 AM CDT Tue Jun 14 2016 Wednesday...Will walk out a few lingering showers and storms out of the eastern CWA through 14-15z, but feel the CWA could be dry even by this time with a more progressive nature to the convection. Then the rest of the day could be characterized by breezy west-southwest winds of 15 to 25 MPH trending west by late day in in-wrapping Northwestern GRT LKS cyclone's dry slot. With deep mixing and delay on cooler air mass influx, another hot day with highs in the 90s acrs much of the area although sfc DPTs should be mixing down below guidance into the mid to even lower 60s as the day progresses. The MCS generation tool suggests some potentially decent(hail producing) isolated to sctrd convection popping up in the cyclone's wrap around acrs eastern/southeastern MN into WI Wed afternoon into evening. A few models even suggest some of this activity may skirt into the far northern DVN CWA by late afternoon, but for now will keep it mainly dry. Veering LLVL wind profiles continue into Wed night for lows down in the 60s. Thursday and Friday...The latest run medium range models continue to vary some in their handling of adjustment of mid and upper ridge up acrs the plains and MO RVR Valley in omega block fashion this period. But the 00z run GFS and ECMWF are similar and a bit further west with axis on Thu and will follow this idea. Timing of a back- door ridge down the upper MS RVR Valley and western GRT LKS, and associated cool frontal push from the north and northeast more problematic. Any delay with this push could make for a large temp bust on the warm side for Thu. The NAM is quicker with the incoming front and thus cooler with highs in the 70s to lower/mid 80s, while the GFS and ECMWF are advertising highs in the mid 80s north, to the lower 90s south. For now will be siding with a thermal blend of all three, but it may be too cool with the added NAM bias. Friday is looking like a full on easterly flow/post-back door frontal day with lower humidity and highs warming in the upper 70s to mid 80s. A chance for some areas to cool down into the upper or even mid 50s Fri night/early Sat morning. Saturday through next Monday...longer range indications suggest omega block to flatten in response to stronger upper jet streaming in from off the CA coast and up into eastern Canada this weekend. The DVN CWA could remain largely dry through at least Monday as convective active zone sets up again from the northern Rockies...to the GRT LKS. Timing will be the challenge when the next digging upper trof out of Canada shunts this storm track further south to impact the local area...the new 00z Euro says by late next Monday night or Tue. Temps to modify/warm in the process as well from Sunday into early next week. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z Wednesday AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1226 PM CDT Tue Jun 14 2016 Difficult forecast for the TAF period as multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms to affect the sites through 06Z. Some of these storms could be strong. Will edit tempo groups with information when timing becomes more apparent. A cold front will move through the area and lead to a wind shift to the WNW tonight. Some MVFR fog is possible in the am, however opted to leave this out due to low confidence. && .DVN Watches/Warnings/Advisories... IA...None. IL...None. MO...None. && SYNOPSIS...McClure SHORT TERM...McClure LONG TERM...12 AVIATION...Gibbs
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 937 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-151015- 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- 936 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016 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 THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY LIKELY TODAY...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE...WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. ISOLATED LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION...A TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT WITH ANY BOUNDARY INTERACTION. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED AREAS GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM GALENA ILLINOIS...TO GENESEO ILLINOIS...TO TO MACOMB ILLINOIS IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER. HEAT INDEX VALUES IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RISE INTO THE MID AND UPPER 90S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON IN AREAS GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. THERE WILL BE A LOW CHANCE FOR AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ALONG AND NORTH OF THE HIGHWAY 20 CORRIDOR LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING. THEN THE NEXT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FOR PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
1205 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016
IAZ040-041-051>053-063>065-141830-
BENTON-JONES-IOWA-CEDAR-LINN-BUCHANAN-JOHNSON-DELAWARE-
1205 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016
...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT JONES...
JOHNSON...BUCHANAN...LINN...DELAWARE...CEDAR...IOWA...AND BENTON
COUNTIES THROUGH 130 PM CDT...
AT 1203 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED
ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR DYSART TO NEAR CEDAR RAPIDS TO NEAR
NICHOLS. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH AND HALF INCH HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE
STORMS.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
CEDAR RAPIDS...IOWA CITY...INDEPENDENCE...ANAMOSA...VINTON...
MANCHESTER...TIPTON...WEST BRANCH...MECHANICSVILLE...STANWOOD...
MARION...CORALVILLE...NORTH LIBERTY...HIAWATHA...MOUNT VERNON...
MONTICELLO...ROBINS...JESUP...CENTER POINT AND LISBON.
THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING HIGHWAYS...
INTERSTATE 80 IN IOWA BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 241 AND 263.
INTERSTATE 380 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 2 AND 55.
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...AND MAY
CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.
THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO
STATIONS AND AVAILABLE TELEVISION STATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 4264 9128 4238 9113 4230 9113 4230 9108
4197 9090 4172 9090 4158 9143 4211 9230
4230 9230 4230 9206 4264 9208
TIME...MOT...LOC 1703Z 212DEG 23KT 4226 9231 4196 9174 4143 9130
GIBBSSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
204 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016
IAC055-061-142015-
DUBUQUE-DELAWARE-
204 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2016
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT DUBUQUE AND DELAWARE
COUNTIES THROUGH 315 PM CDT.
...
AT 203 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER DELHI...OR
NEAR MANCHESTER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND HALF INCH HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
MANCHESTER...DYERSVILLE...FARLEY...EDGEWOOD...EARLVILLE...
HOPKINTON...DELHI...NEW VIENNA...COLESBURG...WORTHINGTON...
HOLY CROSS...GREELEY...LUXEMBURG...DELAWARE...MASONVILLE...
BANKSTON...ONEIDA...DELAWARE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS...
PETERSBURG AND BUCK CREEK.
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY CAUSE
LOCALIZED FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 10 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO
STATIONS AND AVAILABLE TELEVISION STATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 4235 9095 4230 9131 4248 9161 4250 9161
4264 9145 4265 9098
TIME...MOT...LOC 1903Z 220DEG 17KT 4243 9134
GIBBSThe Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:13 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement relayed numerous reports of a brief funnel cloud between the city of Troy Mills and Walker. The time and location is approximate.
Emergency management confirmed that a brief tornado touchdown occurred in a field. No damage occurred. Emergency manager confirmed video taken of the tornado shows the location and full duration of just less than 30 seconds before lifting. This tornado was seen by a large area that afternoon and was reported by numerous funnel cloud reports.
Law enforcement reported several trees blown down and a grain bin blown down near 280th Street and Dugan Ave. The time is estimated from radar.
Law enforcement reported a tree branch down in the 2200 block of Jefferson Road. The branch was large enough to require a deputy to remove it from the road. The time of this event is estimated from radar.
Flash flooding was reported by spotters in an around the city of Dubuque, and surrounding rural areas near creeks. Catfish creek, southwest of the city of Dubuque was reported well out of its banks and rapidly flowing. Spotters remarked that they had not seen it this high before. Reported rainfall in Dubuque county, the evening of June 14, was 3 to 5 inches.
Local emergency management reported a large tree blown down in the city of Monticello.
Jackson county law enforcement reported several creeks in eastern Jackson county out of their banks.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 2016Warnings in Iowa, June 2016
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: 644329, 644352, 644331, 644338, 644317, 644334, 644325.