This Day in Weather History June 18
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1998: Several rounds of severe weather pounded Iowa throughout the day. Large hail fell from southwestern through northern Iowa in the morning, then severe straight-line winds occurred in the late morning to afternoon, and finally urban and flash flooding struck in the late afternoon and evening as some areas experienced several episodes of heavy rain throughout the day. Rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches were common in Dallas, Madison, Polk, Story, and Warren counties with small creeks and streams swelling over their banks. In Des Moines a state of emergency was declared as water 6 feet deep or more covered some city intersections stalling hundreds of cars and flooding the basements of approximately 10,000 homes. During the afternoon storms winds gusted to as high as 70 to 90 mph around Grinnell, Montezuma, and Montour. In northeastern Iowa the winds were even more severe with gusts estimated as high as 115 mph near Nashua and two semi trucks blown off Interstate 380 southeast of Waterloo. Severe weather was reported in at least 47 counties in Iowa.
1974: A thunderstorm tracked from around Fort Dodge, near Ames, to Ankeny and northeast Des Moines and then to around Oskaloosa. More than two dozen funnel clouds were reported and at least half of these touched down as tornadoes, one of which caused F4 damage between Ankeny and Runnels killing 2 people and injuring 50. Baseball sized hail also caused extensive damage around Ames.
1973: Severe thunderstorms produced strong straight-line winds in northwestern and north central Iowa as well as a tornado in Woodbury County that produced F2 damage as it struck downtown Moville, destroying a trailer park and causing 2 fatalities and at least 10 injuries.
1960: A squall line produced severe weather from around Varina in Pocahontas County to Harcourt in Webster County. Hail up to 3 inches in diameter caused considerable damage around Varina, Fonda, Knoke, and Pomeroy with hail stones accumulating to 8 to 10 inches deep on the ground and 3 to 4 feet deep in ditches. Strong straight line winds also swept through with the hail, leading local residents to acclaim the storm as the worst to strike the area in decades.
Source: National Weather Service
