Storms bring high winds, hail to Eastern Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS - Much of Eastern Iowa saw damage from high winds and parts of the Cedar Rapids area got pelted by sizable hail, but the city appeared to escape the worst of Monday's storm.

Eastern Iowa saw multiple rounds of stormy weather throughout most of the day. It brought high wind speeds, including 94 mph gusts in Independence. One person was injured when her Fayette County home was blown off its foundation.

A tornado watch remained in effect for a large swath of east central Iowa, including Linn and Johnson counties, until late Monday.

Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha and Marion saw their worst afternoon weather between about 1 and 2 p.m. when a storm dropped torrential rains and golf ball- to baseball-sized hail, said KCRG-TV9 meteorologist Kaj Omara.

During that time frame. Cedar Rapids saw rainfall at almost 1 inch per hour, according to an email from Maria Johnson, the city's communications division manager. The city received many calls to check on storm drains, and some pumping was required to relieve flooding on roads with damaged storm lines, she said.

Both the Marion and Hiawatha police departments said they didn't respond to any reports of storm damage during the day. Sara Whited, an officer with Hiawatha police, said she did, however, hear of some vehicle damage because of golf ball-sized hail.

Col. John Stuelke said the Linn County Sheriff's Office also did not have to respond to any storm damage reports.

Flooding also did not appear to be a threat for the area. The Cedar River in Cedar Rapids crested at 7.81 feet early in the afternoon, well below the minor flood stage of 12 feet. It began falling after the storm as the level was down to 7.5 feet just a few hours later.

Omara said he expects Tuesday's weather to be quiet, but more storms - possibly severe - to occur Wednesday.