Thunderstorm Wind — Shelby, Iowa

2025-08-09 · near Defiance, Shelby, Iowa

Event narrative

Law enforcement report of a barn blown down and damage to trees. Winds gusted to an estimated 90-100 mph.

Wider weather episode

A powerful thunderstorm, characterized by a broad swath of destructive winds, swept across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa on the morning of August 9, 2025. The event was responsible for one fatality and seven injuries, as well as widespread property and tree damage. This devastating storm was spawned by a large low-pressure system moving across the northern Great Plains. A trailing front and a strong low-level jet stream, a ribbon of fast-moving air just above the surface, funneled a significant amount of moisture into the area. This created extremely unstable atmospheric conditions that, along with a setup favoring strong downbursts, led to the widespread and damaging winds.

The event began in Saline County, Nebraska, at approximately 3:25 AM CST with numerous reports of high wind gusts and damage. An emergency manager in Friend measured an 84 mph wind gust and reported trees down, power outages, and roof damage. In Seward County, an 82 mph gust was measured by a public weather station 3 miles south-southwest of Seward. At 3:55 AM CST an NWS employee reported large trees down and a shed roof torn off 4 miles south-southwest of Garland.

As the thunderstorm moved into Lancaster County, it produced the highest wind gust of the event at 4:22 AM CST, when the Lincoln Airport (KLNK) ASOS station recorded a 91 mph wind gust. Reports from law enforcement at 4:15 AM CST detailed substantial roof damage to two buildings 3 miles south-southwest of Lincoln. An emergency manager reported an overturned camper at 4:00 AM CST 4 miles north-northwest of Malcolm, which resulted in five injuries, with two people transported to the hospital.

A tragic incident occurred in Douglas County at 4:55 AM CST when a very large, two-foot diameter tree was uprooted and fell onto a vehicle 3 miles east-southeast of Yutan, resulting in one fatality and one injury. An NWS employee estimated an 80 mph gust 4 miles north of Gretna at 4:54 AM CST. The powerful winds extended into Washington County where emergency management reported a large tree fell on a camper 4 miles northeast of Blair, injuring two occupants. A public weather station 1 mile south-southeast of Blair measured an 86 mph gust, and a report from the same location detailed a building roof collapse at 5:26 AM CST.

As the squall line moved into western Iowa, it continued to produce significant winds and damage. At 5:35 AM CST, the KTQE ASOS station 2 miles east-southeast of Tekamah in Burt County measured a 69 mph gust. At 5:43 AM CST, two public weather stations in Missouri Valley, Harrison County, measured a 76 mph gust, and reports from Mondamin and Pisgah indicated a large uprooted tree and snapped power poles and trees. A public weather station 3 miles south-southwest of Blencoe in Monona County measured a 73 mph gust at 5:45 AM CST. The final report came from Shelby County, where law enforcement noted a barn was blown down and trees were damaged 2 miles north of Defiance at 6:05 AM CST.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.8500, -95.3500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1286426. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.