More severe weather expected to bombard Eastern Iowa on Tuesday

Just days after a tornado outbreak swept through Eastern Iowa, another band of severe storms is expected to batter the region Tuesday.

As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities bureau has projected a moderate risk of severe weather — the second-highest warning level from the Storm Prediction Center — from Marshalltown into Illinois.

To start, thunderstorms will rumble overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, possibly producing small hail.

Then, several rounds of severe weather on Tuesday may bring strong long-tracked tornadoes, damaging wind and large to giant hail as a warm front creeps north. Thunderstorms likely will form later in the day than last week’s storms did, possibly from Tuesday afternoon into the night. The storms will be moving at highway speeds — between 50 and 70 miles per hour.

Last week’s severe weather was first forecast as moderate risk before being upgraded to high risk Friday afternoon — the highest warning level.

It’s still unclear the exact timing and location of the storm development, as well as how many rounds of severe storms may occur. Here’s what we know so far:

Monday Afternoon Storm Update by Gazetteonline on Scribd

Tornado updates

On Friday, storms started barreling through Eastern Iowa around 4 p.m., leaving widespread damage in their wake.

The NWS Quad Cities bureau updated its tornado count of the severe weather outbreak from 10 to 16 as of Monday afternoon. The team expects the total number of tornadoes to be in the 20s once it completes its analysis. So far, at least 11 injuries have been reported. There are no known fatalities.

The most significant of the tornadoes assessed so far still is an EF4 that tracked from Keokuk County into Washington and Johnson counties from 3:48 to 4:37 p.m. Friday. Its estimated peak winds were 170 mph, and its maximum width was 600 yards. It was on the ground for about 67 minutes, destroying several homes, farm buildings, equipment, vehicles and trees.

The foundations of the farmhouse on Ed Whestine’s farm southwest of Wellman, Iowa on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Whestine took shelter in the basement as multiple tornados passed through the area during the March 31st storm. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

“A farmstead north of Keota in Keokuk County had the most extreme damage rated at EF4, with a house swept clean of its foundation,” the update said.

Other than the lone EF4, there have been 11 EF2s, three EF1s and one EF0 identified so far.

In addition to many tornado reports, the bureau also received many large hail and wind reports. Maximum straight line winds were estimated at 80 to 90 mph.

The bureau will continue to analyze damage surveys and update its analysis of the severe weather outbreak.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com