Thunderstorm Wind — Buena Vista, Iowa

2025-04-18 · near Storm Lake, Buena Vista, Iowa

Event narrative

Tree, power line, and roof damage occurred along business Highway 71. Most roof damage was to metal roofing and building soffits, with one building suffering the collapse of an unsupported cinder block wall. Several semi-trucks were tipped over. A large hardwood tree trunk was snapped off above the ground.

Wider weather episode

In the wake of an earlier cold front passage, elevated instability up to 1500 J/kg lingered as cross-boundary flow on the low-level jet reinvigorated storms in a deeply sheared post-frontal environment. Storms in far southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska produced spotty large hail, with a more intense cluster of both hail (up to 2.5 inches diameter) and wind (to around 80 mph) producing storms moving through northwest Iowa during the couple hours after midnight.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.6500, -95.2000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1256779. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.