Tornadoes · United States · Iowa · 2019
EF0 tornado, Garden City to Lawn Hills, Iowa, May 29, 2019
From Garden City to Lawn Hills, this EF0 tornado ran 1.1 miles across Hardin County on May 29, 2019, touching down at 7:37 PM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- EF0
- Date
- May 29, 2019
- Touchdown
- 7:37 PM CDT (00:37 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:41 PM CDT (00:41 UTC)
- On the ground
- 4 minutes
- Path length
- 1.1 miles (1.8 km)
- Path width
- 30 yards (27 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Hardin County
- Touchdown point
- 42.228, -93.340
- Lift-off point
- 42.244, -93.338
- Record number
- 1905291837-01
The damage survey
3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 79 mph.
- Video from Iowa Falls Times Citizen shows tornado moving north/crossing road and moving into an open field. 29
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
An upper level low pressure system was in place with a surface boundary stretched across Iowa from Storm Lake southeastward into southeast Iowa. This boundary provided the focus for thunderstorm development throughout the late afternoon and evening hours. The low level environment provided the needed conditions for many of these storms to rotate and produce funnel clouds and brief, weak tornadoes. Many of the tornadoes that occurred were brief touchdowns in open ares with no damage.
Tornado captured on video east of Garden City. The tornado remained mostly in open farmland but did some minor tree damage to a farmstead that was grazed.
Storm chaser video shows tornado heading north through trees then across open fields before dissipating. Little if any damage occurred other than some minor tree damage.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at May 29, 6:36 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 29, 6:36 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Des Moines IA 636 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 ...Updated 00z Aviation... .SHORT TERM.../Tonight through Thursday/ Issued at 317 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 .Short Term /Tonight through Thursday Night/... Confidence: Medium to High Main challenge continues the upper level system over the area. Weak convergence and wind shift along the trough extending from northwest Iowa back southeast to the low near Des Moines...then east southeast along the warm front should be the focus for some shower and thunderstorm development this afternoon and evening. Though parameters have been muted so far, both instability and convergence continues to increase which may lead to possible landspouts or funnel clouds late this afternoon/early evening. Will be monitoring for that through the remainder of the afternoon/early evening. Overall there has been a lessening of available moisture, but even with the lowering trends...PWATs are still running about an inch over the east and north at this time. Current 1 to 3 hour flash flood guidance is running about 1.25 inches. Some of the showers may produce brief locally heavy downpours with a quick half inch to inch of rain in a few locations...but confidence on coverage and overall location remains low so will not be issuing any headlines today. Probably the more likely areas would be near the upper level low over northwest Iowa and in the warm sector just east of Des Moines where the weak warm front/stationary front is currently situated. With the convection/showers being partly driven by daytime heating...the activity will lessen after sunset tonight. With saturated ground...possible rain...and light winds overnight have added fog to the grids...especially over the north toward morning. Lows tonight will drop into the lower 50s south to the upper 50s in the south. Thursday will see the upper level low drifting south with additional afternoon showers and isolated thunderstorms redeveloping. Clouds will continue over the south...so highs there will be cooler than the northern areas with readings in the upper 70s north by late afternoon. Lows Thursday night will fall back into the mid to upper 50s. .LONG TERM.../Thursday night through Wednesday/ Issued at 317 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 .Long Term /Friday through Wednesday/... Confidence: Medium The upper level system will gradually shift south by Friday morning with a weak ridge of high pressure settling moving over the area through early afternoon. Height falls will already be occurring in the afternoon hours with potential for afternoon cumulus as the ridge slides to the east. The Euro and GFS both suggest the possibility of a passing shower during the daytime heating, though confidence remains low at this time. However, with this year being so wet and the soil moisture as high as it is, it is possible that this might occur and we may need to update the forecast by tomorrow. Highs Friday will be warmer than the past few days with afternoon readings reaching the 80s during the day. Mild conditions will continue into the weekend just ahead of the approaching northern stream shortwave/cold front Saturday afternoon. With MUCAPE pushing 1000 to 1500 J/KG by late day, a few storms may become strong. 0 to 6 km bulk shear is marginal through the day as well so widespread problems are not expected. Highs Saturday will remain in the lower 70s north to the lower 80s southwest. Another mainly dry day is anticipated on Sunday as the next ridge of high pressure quickly traverses east. For the remainder of the period, there are some timing differences between the GFS and the Euro. The GFS brings the next chances for rain into the area already on Monday, with the Euro model keeping the next trough west of the region through Tuesday. Confidence in Days 6-7 thus has been lowered, though with a longwave trough setting up over the Yucatan and some energy being pushed east in the northern stream toward Iowa, it appears that during Monday to Wednesday, there will be at least a chance for showers and thunderstorms for one day...possibly two. Highs during the period will remain pleasant for early June, mainly in the 70s and 80s with a trend toward the mid to upper 80s by Wednesday. && .AVIATION.../For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Thursday evening/ Issued at 633 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 Low pressure system will linger over Iowa through the period. Ceilings will lower overnight, some locations with IFR conditions. Elsewhere widespread low-end MVFR CIGs. Patchy fog could send visibilities to around 1 mile in some locations, especially with the saturated ground. Atmosphere will have plenty of moisture to work with overnight that can restrict visibility. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 317 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 Area flood warnings continue for the southeast where many county roads remain impacted by yesterdays heavy rainfall. Elsewhere, river flood warnings are also in effect with impacts expected through this week and into the weekend for some locations. Any additional rainfall over the next 7 days will prolong the soggy conditions and high soil moisture across the region. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...REV LONG TERM...REV AVIATION...Krull HYDROLOGY...REV
Hazardous weather outlook, May 29, 3:36 PM CDT, 4 hours 1 minute before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Des Moines IA 336 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 IAZ004-005-015-023>025-033>037-044>049-059>062-073>075-084>086- 095>097-302045- Emmet-Kossuth-Palo Alto-Pocahontas-Humboldt-Wright-Sac-Calhoun- Webster-Hamilton-Hardin-Crawford-Carroll-Greene-Boone-Story- Marshall-Dallas-Polk-Jasper-Poweshiek-Warren-Marion-Mahaska-Lucas- Monroe-Wapello-Wayne-Appanoose-Davis- 336 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Iowa. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight Scattered thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening. Isolated severe storms may occur with quarter sized hail, 60 mph winds and a funnel cloud or landspout tornado possible. River Flood Watches and Warnings are in effect for parts of the area. Please refer to the National Weather Service website at weather.gov/desmoines for further details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday and again early next week. At this time, the threat for severe weather appears low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... IAZ006-007-016-017-026>028-038-039-050-057-058-070>072-081>083- 092>094-302045- Winnebago-Worth-Hancock-Cerro Gordo-Franklin-Butler-Bremer-Grundy- Black Hawk-Tama-Audubon-Guthrie-Cass-Adair-Madison-Adams-Union- Clarke-Taylor-Ringgold-Decatur- 336 PM CDT Wed May 29 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Iowa. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight A few thunderstorms are possible this afternoon. The threat for severe weather is low. River Flood Watches and Warnings are in effect for parts of the area. Please refer to the National Weather Service website at weather.gov/desmoines for further details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday and again early next week. At this time, the threat for severe weather appears low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... REV
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 29, 7:14 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, May 29, 7:14 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, May 29, 7:23 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
723 PM CDT WED MAY 29 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0718 PM TORNADO 3 WSW DEEP RIVER 41.56N 92.43W
05/29/2019 POWESHIEK IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
***1 INJURY*** INJURY REPORTED AT A PREVIOUS
FARMSTEAD WITH DAMAGE. DAMAGE TO AN
OUTBUILDING, TORNADO HAD LIFTED AND WAS BACK
ON THE GROUND.
&&
MJBLocal storm report, May 29, 7:31 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
731 PM CDT WED MAY 29 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0728 PM TORNADO 1 ENE DEEP RIVER 41.59N 92.36W
05/29/2019 POWESHIEK IA LAW ENFORCEMENT
TORNADO HAD LIFTED, NOW BACK ON THE GROUND.
&&
MJBLocal storm report, May 29, 7:35 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
735 PM CDT WED MAY 29 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0734 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 2 N RADCLIFFE 42.34N 93.43W
05/29/2019 HARDIN IA PUBLIC
FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED FROM AMES.
&&
ANSORGELocal storm report, May 29, 7:36 PM CDT, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
736 PM CDT WED MAY 29 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0736 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 5 NNE CLEMONS 42.18N 93.12W
05/29/2019 MARSHALL IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
ANSORGEThe air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z
0.6 hours before the tornado, 245 km from the path. May 30, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 614 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -13 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1493 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 778 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 56 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 167 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 3.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.3 K/km
Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z
11.4 hours after it, 245 km from the path. May 30, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 115 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -128 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 91 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 839 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.7 K/km
The surface observations
Iowa Falls (IFA), 27 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:33 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2019 tornado in IowaEvery tornado in Iowa since 1950Warnings in force in Iowa nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 29, 2019
40 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29 | 8:44 AM CDT | EF1 | Scott, MO | 1.0 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| May 29 | 2:07 PM EDT | EF0 | Tioga, PA | 1.1 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| May 29 | 1:19 PM CDT | EF0 | Tarrant, TX | 3.9 | 200 | $5,000 | ||
| May 29 | 1:22 PM CDT | EF0 | Denton, TX | 3.7 | 250 | $1,000 | ||
| May 29 | 1:31 PM CDT | EF1 | Tarrant, TX | 0.5 | 300 | $100,000 | ||
| May 29 | 3:14 PM EDT | EF0 | Lehigh, PA | 2.3 | 50 | |||
| May 29 | 3:20 PM EDT | EF0 | Sullivan, PA | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 29 | 2:58 PM CDT | EF0 | Rockwall, TX | 3.1 | 25 | $1,000 | ||
| May 29 | 3:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Van Zandt, TX | 3.0 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| May 29 | 4:14 PM EDT | EF1 | Perry, PA | 4.9 | 300 | $40,000 | ||
| May 29 | 3:17 PM CDT | Unrated | Van Zandt, TX | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 29 | 4:24 PM EDT | EF1 | Dauphin, PA | 2.5 | 350 | $20,000 | ||
| May 29 | 4:24 PM EDT | EF1 | Fulton, PA | 0.7 | 50 | $35,000 | ||
| May 29 | 3:36 PM CDT | EF0 | Wood, TX | 3.4 | 100 | $1,000 | ||
| May 29 | 4:00 PM CDT | Unrated | Sac, IA | 1.2 | 30 | |||
| May 29 | 4:11 PM CDT | Unrated | Sac, IA | 0.7 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 4:21 PM CDT | EF0 | McCurtain, OK | 1.1 | 75 | |||
| May 29 | 4:24 PM CDT | EF2 | Kaufman, TX | 4.0 | 215 | 1 | $1.0 million | |
| May 29 | 4:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Christian, IL | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 4:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Christian, IL | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 4:35 PM CDT | EF0 | Christian, IL | 0.3 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 4:49 PM CDT | Unrated | Pocahontas, IA | 0.2 | 40 | |||
| May 29 | 4:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Macon, IL | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 4:50 PM CDT | EF2 | Wood, TX | 9.1 | 850 | $300,000 | ||
| May 29 | 4:51 PM CDT | EF2 | Van Zandt, TX | 7.2 | 700 | $500,000 | ||
| May 29 | 5:08 PM CDT | EF1 | Van Zandt, TX | 2.3 | 140 | $250,000 | ||
| May 29 | 5:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Randolph, AR | 0.6 | 75 | $40,000 | ||
| May 29 | 5:18 PM CDT | EF1 | Van Zandt, TX | 3.8 | 250 | $1,000 | ||
| May 29 | 5:31 PM CDT | EF0 | Fannin, TX | 10.8 | 300 | $25,000 | ||
| May 29 | 6:21 PM CDT | Unrated | Humboldt, IA | 0.5 | 30 | |||
| May 29 | 6:23 PM CDT | EF0 | Iowa, IA | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 7:01 PM CDT | EF1 | Poweshiek, IA | 3.5 | 50 | 1 | $10,000 | |
| May 29 | 7:28 PM CDT | Unrated | Poweshiek, IA | 0.9 | 30 | |||
| May 29 | 7:39 PM CDT | Unrated | Poweshiek, IA | 0.9 | 30 | |||
| May 29 | 7:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Iowa, IA | 3.3 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 8:13 PM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, IA | 0.3 | 20 | |||
| May 29 | 8:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Hardin, IA | 1.2 | 30 | |||
| May 29 | 8:29 PM CDT | EF0 | Hardin, IA | 0.6 | 40 | $30,000 | ||
| May 29 | 8:31 PM CDT | EF0 | Hardin, IA | 1.3 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| May 29 | 8:54 PM CDT | Unrated | Hardin, IA | 0.7 | 20 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.