Thunderstorm Wind — Van Buren, Iowa

2024-08-27 · near Bonaparte, Van Buren, Iowa

Event narrative

A trained spotter reported large tree branches down.

Wider weather episode

Showers and thunderstorms developed late in the day on Aug 27th in northeast Missouri and spread into southeast Iowa and far western Illinois into the evening. Large hail up to golf ball size fell for nearly one half hour straight in Rutledge, MO.

A pronounced downburst (powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground) caused widespread damage in Burlington, IA, knocking down trees, limbs, and powerlines. Five homes had holes in the roofs due to falling limbs. A commercial storage building had a partial roof collapse and another large tall outbuilding had partial roofing peeled back, consistent with wind estimates of at least 80 mph.

Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were observed in parts of northeast Missouri and southeast Iowa.

Oppressive heat and humidity that began on the 26th and persisted into the 27th helped spawn these storms. Both Dubuque (tied) and Moline (exceeded) daily record highs on the 27th, with Moline reaching 98 and Dubuque 94.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.7000, -91.8000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1200110. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.