This Day in Weather History May 22

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2004: A severe weather outbreak occurred for the second consecutive day with storms developing on the afternoon of May 22nd and continuing into the morning of the 23rd, producing at least 20 tornadoes across Iowa. Fortunately most of these were relatively weak and affected open country with no injuries occurring. Some of the storms produced very large hail including an incredible 5.5-inch diameter hail stone just northwest of Slater. Some storms also produced very heavy rain and flooding with accumulations of 5.20 inches at Colo and 6.67 inches near Ames. At Waterloo a total of 6.96 inches of rain fell in four days from May 21-24, and by the end of the month their total of 11.39 inches broke the record for the wettest May on record at that location.

1873: Severe weather struck southeastern Iowa as a tornado tore a path through Keokuk, Washington, and Louisa counties before crossing into Illinois. Very large hail fell along its track with hail stones 4.5 inches in diameter found at Sigourney and stones as large as hen eggs picked up in Washington four hours after the storm. The storm killed 8 people and injured at dozens of others in Iowa. The worst destruction occurred north of Washington when the tornado was a half mile wide and produced F4 damage at times, including at a school six miles north of town where a student and teacher were killed and eight other students seriously injured. The U.S. Army Signal Corps, ancestor of the modern day National Weather Service, conducted the first ever detailed tornado damage survey following this storm.

Source: National Weather Service