EF2 tornado, Mt Hamill to Toolesboro, Iowa, April 16, 2024

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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.

4. 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.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Rating

EF2

Date

April 16, 2024

Touchdown

4:25 PM CDT (21:25 UTC)

Lifted

5:21 PM CDT (22:21 UTC)

On the ground

56 minutes

Path length

41.7 miles (67.0 km)

Path width

600 yards (549 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Lee, Henry, Des Moines and Louisa counties

Touchdown point

40.770, -91.640

Lift-off point

41.160, -91.040

Record number

2404161525-01

32 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DVN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 125 mph.

• Public video of a tornado southeast of Morning Sun.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and far northeast Missouri sat in the warm sector of an intense Spring storm system that brought widespread severe thunderstorms to the area during the afternoon and evening hours on April 16th. There were reports of hail, damaging winds, and two tornadoes. One of the tornadoes was on the ground for 42 miles across parts of Lee, Henry, Des Moines and Louisa Counties and was rated EF-2 with maximum winds of 130 MPH.

An NWS survey team confirmed a long-track EF2 tornado Tuesday afternoon in southeast Iowa. The tornado developed just southwest of Houghton, Iowa in Lee County. The tornado caused mainly EF-1 damage in Lee county to hardwood trees and farm outbuildings. Significant damage to homes, trees, and outbuildings was observed. The worst damage occurred at a farmstead north of New London in Henry County, where the roof was removed from a brick house, one of the exterior walls collapsed, and the garage was destroyed. Numerous out buildings were also destroyed at nearby farmsteads. Maximum winds were estimated around 130 mph. The tornado continued into northwest Des Moines County and caused additional damage at several farmsteads southeast of Yarmouth. Public video confirmed that the tornado continued northeast into Louisa County, where a vehicle was blown off the road just east of Morning Sun. The tornado then damaged trees near the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge, and finally lifted near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. The tornado had a maximum path width around 600 yards. The tornado path length was around 42 miles. There were no injuries. Numerous emergency managers provided valuable assistance to NWS Quad Cities during the survey.

An NWS survey team confirmed a long-track EF2 tornado Tuesday afternoon in southeast Iowa. The tornado developed just southwest of Houghton, Iowa in Lee County. Significant damage to homes, trees, and outbuildings was observed. The worst damage occurred at a farmstead north of New London in Henry County, where the roof was removed from a brick house, one of the exterior walls collapsed, and the garage was destroyed. Numerous out buildings were also destroyed at nearby farmsteads. Maximum winds were estimated around 130 mph. The tornado continued into northwest Des Moines County and caused additional damage at several farmsteads southeast of Yarmouth. Public video confirmed that the tornado continued northeast into Louisa County, where a vehicle was blown off the road just east of Morning Sun. The tornado then damaged trees near the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge, and finally lifted near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. The tornado had a maximum path width around 600 yards. The tornado path length was around 42 miles. There were no injuries. Numerous emergency managers provided valuable assistance to NWS Quad Cities during the survey.

An NWS survey team confirmed a long-track EF2 tornado Tuesday afternoon in southeast Iowa. The tornado developed just southwest of Houghton, Iowa in Lee County. Significant damage to homes, trees, and outbuildings was observed. The worst damage occurred at a farmstead north of New London in Henry County, where the roof was removed from a brick house, one of the exterior walls collapsed, and the garage was destroyed. Numerous out buildings were also destroyed at nearby farmsteads. Maximum winds were estimated around 130 mph. The tornado continued into northwest Des Moines County and caused additional damage at several farmsteads southeast of Yarmouth. Public video confirmed that the tornado continued northeast into Louisa County, where a vehicle was blown off the road just east of Morning Sun. The tornado then damaged trees near the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge, and finally lifted near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. The tornado had a maximum path width around 600 yards. The tornado path length was around 42 miles. There were no injuries. Numerous emergency managers provided valuable assistance to NWS Quad Cities during the survey.

An NWS survey team confirmed a long-track EF2 tornado Tuesday afternoon in southeast Iowa. The tornado developed just southwest of Houghton, Iowa in Lee County. Significant damage to homes, trees, and outbuildings was observed. The worst damage occurred at a farmstead north of New London in Henry County, where the roof was removed from a brick house, one of the exterior walls collapsed, and the garage was destroyed. Numerous out buildings were also destroyed at nearby farmsteads. Maximum winds were estimated around 130 mph. The tornado continued into northwest Des Moines County and caused additional damage at several farmsteads southeast of Yarmouth. Public video confirmed that the tornado continued northeast into Louisa County, where a vehicle was blown off the road just east of Morning Sun. The tornado then damaged trees near the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge, and finally lifted near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. The tornado had a maximum path width around 600 yards. The tornado path length was around 42 miles. There were no injuries. Numerous emergency managers provided valuable assistance to NWS Quad Cities during the survey.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

12 minutes of warning. NWS DVN issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:13 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:39 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:06 UTC and running to 00:33 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:54 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

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.

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:27 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in IowaEvery tornado in Iowa since 1950Warnings in force in Iowa nowThe forecast where you are

30 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.