Thunderstorm Wind — Emmet, Iowa

2024-05-24 · near Estherville Arpt, Emmet, Iowa

Event narrative

Delayed report of 51 knot peak wind gust at the Estherville airport.

Wider weather episode

A strong low level jet surging into the region, paired with increasing warm air and moisture advection into the morning hours of May 24th, led to the development of a line of showers and storms (QLCS) in Nebraska, which then swept across Iowa. MUCAPE values around 2000J/kg ahead of this line allowed for these storms to become severe within the QLCS as it rapidly tracked eastward across Iowa through the morning. Severe hail occurred with these storms, with values generally between 1-1.75 inches, though hail up to 2.5-2.75 inches was reported in Wayne county. Outside of the hail, severe winds were the primary hazard, with values reported generally between 58-75 mph. Widespread damage was reported due to the winds, with the majority of this damage being snapped trees/branches and power poles, some falling onto structures, as well as blown over semis. Outside of the hail and winds, a handful of tornadoes also occurred (please refer to the separate entry for those details).

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.4100, -94.7500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1184345. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.