Tornado Watch & Warnings

A complex of thunderstorms has worked its' way through north-central Missouri this afternoon, crossing the warm front and continuing into south-central Iowa currently. These storms are capable of producing tornadoes and thus warnings have been issued for several counties for the potential for tornadoes. Some small hail may also be a possibility with these storms. The storms are unique in that they are typically low-topped and fairly unimpressive on radar; however there is such a large amount of shear available that they are easily rotating.

The storms are moving nearly straight north, at speeds over 50 mph. Making them quite dangerous for anybody in the path of these storms. Luckily at this time only one tornado has been reported near Bethany, MO some time ago, however the storms are going to be capable of producing tornadoes for the remainder of the evening. A new tornado watch has just been issued by the Storm Prediction Center for portions of south-central and southeast Iowa until 11 PM tonight. Expect storms to continue to move into the favorable area throughout the evening, thus even after one storm passes through still stay on the lookout for additional storms that may be moving your way.

'Live' radar updates are being provided on the Iowa Chaser homepage, with images enhanced for those areas that are being affected by the current tornado warned storms.