November Tornado Warning Uncommon But Not Unprecedented

Mark Willett took this photo of a tornado near the intersection of 110th Street and U.S. Highway 63 between New Sharon and Montezuma, Monday afternoon. (photo by Mark Willett)

New Sharon, Iowa – The sirens went off and the warnings went out just before 4 PM Monday afternoon, for reports of a tornado in the northern portion of Mahaska County.

Mahaska County Emergency Management Director Jamey Robinson said that a Mahaska County Deputy spotted a tornado on the ground in the northern portion of the county. The deputy followed the tornado into Poweshiek County.

Mark Willett also spotted a tornado on his way back to Oskaloosa Monday afternoon and stopped to take a photo of the storm, and check another item off his ‘bucket list’.

Willett was at the intersection of 110th Street and U.S. Highway 63, in between New Sharon and Montezuma, when he captured the image he posted to Facebook.

Historically, Iowa has seen a tornado in every month of the year with the exceptions of January and February, says the data from the National Weather Service for the years of 1980 to 2015.

Until 2015, there were 41 (2.4%) tornadoes reported in the month of November. October had seen 31 (1.9%) reported tornadoes, while December had just 3 (0.2%).

By far, the biggest two months in Iowa for tornadoes are May and June, with 412 (24.6%) being reported over that period for May, and 521 (31.1%) reported in June, from 1980 to 2015.

Robinson said that no damage or injuries were reported due to the storm.