May 1 Severe Weather Update #2

I took a small trip outside of Ames late this afternoon/evening in hopes of some thunderstorms along a surging dryline in central Iowa. A nice CU field was present, and several towers tried to get going, but to no avail as they were all crushed by warm temperatures aloft. This wasn't the case in extreme northwest Iowa, as a strong dynamically driven system combined with the low pressure in the vicinity to create a favorable environment for rotating storms.

The first tornado report in Iowa came just before 7 PM near Sioux Center. As the storms continued to develop and grow, several more tornadoes were reported in Sioux and Lyon counties through 7:45 PM. The only damage report thus far was near Rock Valley where it hit a farmsted to the west of town. The second-hand report indicated that several buildings may have been hit, however the house looked okay. More detailed reports on those storms and subsequent tornadoes once Sioux Falls NWS conducts surveys and more images of the tornado(s) are available.

Currently the dryline is stalling out in central Iowa and may retrograde (move west) overnight tonight. Several isolated thunderstorms occurring central and eastern Iowa, with one severe thunderstorm warned storm in Black Hawk and Bremer counties. Quarter-sized hail is possible with that storm through 10 PM.

Other areas in the central US are still being pounded by severe and tornado warned storms, from central Oklahoma through eastern Kansas and into northern Missouri. These storms should continue to move north/northeast and into the state of Iowa during the overnight hours likely effecting mainly the eastern half of the state. These thunderstorms should move out during the morning hours, in time for another round potentially in the afternoon for eastern Iowa. Once again severe weather is a possibility for those storms in the eastern half of the state tomorrow afternoon, the best threat will likely be near the low pressure system center that may be somewhere in northeast Iowa. Once more information is known on the possible location of this low and the severe weather threat, later updates may relay that information.