EF2 Tornado — Adair, Iowa

2024-05-21 · near Greenfield, Adair, Iowa

Event narrative

Emergency management recorded a path of damage from just east of Greenfield to just shy of the Adair/Madison County line north of 140th Street. The initial portion of this tornado was observed via the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) and was extended farther southwest accordingly. This tornado impacted farmsteads with damage to outbuildings and tree groves. Toward the end of the path, a large industrial wind mill was blown over southeast of the intersection of 150th street and Walnut Avenue. EF2 damage was then done with complete destruction of an outbuilding along York Avenue along with shredding of trees. The tornado then quickly weakened and dissipated as it approached the county line.

Wider weather episode

PLEASE NOTE, for hail, wind, heavy rain and flooding, please see separate Storm Data entry for May 20-22.

Numerous tornadoes occurred on this day with numerous injuries and four fatalities at Greenfield in Adair County.

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms brought torrential rainfall, damaging winds, hail and destructive tornadoes to the state. These thunderstorms were the result of a low pressure system which lifted north into the area on the night of May 20th, 2024, producing slow moving storms that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This resulted in flash flooding over portions of northern and central Iowa through the morning of May 21st, 2024.

Following the heavy rainfall through the morning, skies cleared out ahead of an approaching cold front. By the afternoon hours of May 21st, 2024, this cold front produced a line of strong thunderstorms which produced multiple strong tornadoes throughout the state, including one which led to significant damage in the town of Greenfield, IA, among other locations. This line of storms also produced damaging winds, leading to widespread tree damage and power outages throughout the forecast area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.3002, -94.4473)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1170154. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.