Sunday storms brought tornado, damaging winds and hail to Eastern Iowa

An EF1 tornado touched down near West Liberty during Sunday’s severe thunderstorm outbreaks, according to the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities bureau.

It descended about 5:48 p.m. and tracked east for about 5 miles, its winds peaking around 95 mph. At its maximum width, it stretched 100 yards.

An EF1 tornado, the second lowest rating on a scale that ranges from EF0 to EF5, has between 86 and 110 mph wind gusts. Outbuildings took the brunt of the damage from the tornado: Walls and roofs collapsed, some blown downwind. Several large trees and two utility poles snapped. The winds forced a metal batting cage to twist and bend at its base, the weather service said.

The tornado dissipated about 5:54 p.m. No injuries or deaths were reported.

On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Muscatine and Poweshiek counties in response to the severe weather. Reynolds added Story County on Tuesday. The proclamation activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Management Program for those counties.

The tornado emerged from one of two rounds of severe thunderstorms that moved Sunday across Iowa.

The first round passed through northwest Iowa on Sunday morning. The second came midafternoon, a chunk of storms hitting Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. It produced hail as big as baseballs in Koszta, in Iowa County, along with widespread wind damage.

That batch of storms merged into a larger cluster that produced large hail and destructive winds up to 75 mph from Mount Pleasant into Illinois. The storms flipped over a dock and about a dozen boats at the Coralville Lake Marina, KCRG-TV reported.

Rainfall reports ranged between 1 and 3 inches in most areas. Le Claire, in Scott County, received 4.15 inches.

The Johnson County Emergency Management agency submitted photos of damaged houses and roofs in Tiffin to the National Weather Service's Quad Cities Bureau. (National Weather Service)

The Johnson County Emergency Management agency submitted photos of damaged houses and roofs in Tiffin to the National Weather Service's Quad Cities Bureau. (National Weather Service)

The Johnson County Emergency Management agency submitted photos of damaged houses and roofs in Tiffin to the National Weather Service's Quad Cities Bureau. (National Weather Service)

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