Severe storms rumbled across northern Iowa last night, spinning off several funnel clouds and a few tornado touchdowns.
There’s one report of hail two-and-three-quarter inches in diameter in rural Ledyard, with winds topping off at 70-miles an hour in Wesley. The storms toppled trees and downed limbs which knocked out the power to many homes in the Algona area, while the heavy downpours flooded streets.
A number of funnel clouds were reported, with at least one tornado striking in northern Kossuth County. Damage assessment is still underway. There are no injuries reported in Iowa — though a tornado strike in southern Minnesota killed at least two people and injured dozens.
Temperatures peaked at 89-degrees Thursday in Algona and fell to as low as 63-degrees during the storm. Another storm system that moved across parts of Pocahontas, Humboldt, Hancock and Cerro Gordo counties put on a spectacular lightning show.
Craig Cogil, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says it was an active night of severe weather. Cogil says this weather pattern will continue to be active for much of the day today in Iowa, as the storm system has stalled over Iowa. He expects more thunderstorms to develop by midday and into the afternoon, especially in eastern Iowa, and that pattern should continue through much of the weekend.
For details, visit: “www.weather.gov”. It’s a rough end to spring. Summer officially arrives at 6:28 Monday morning.
Thanks to Chuck Shockley, KLGA, Algona, and Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City