Northwest Iowa — Severe weather rumbled through northwest Iowa once again late Saturday and early Sunday.
It started with a severe thunderstorm watch, which was issued about 6:15 p.m. Saturday evening, and was to run until 12:15 a.m. The action stayed west of our area until about 10:40 p.m., when things started with a bang around here, with a tornado warning for northeastern Lyon and western Osceola counties, as well as south-central Nobles County in Minnesota until 11:15 p.m. The warning said there was a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado, and the National Weather Service had detected it over Rock Rapids at that time. They said it would affect George around 10:50 p.m., Little Rock around 10:55, Ashton around 11 p.m. and Sibley about 11:05.
That was followed shortly thereafter by a severe thunderstorm warning for portions of several counties: Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux, Clay, and O’Brien counties in Iowa; Rock, Jackson, Nobles, Murray, and Cottonwood counties in Minnesota, and Lincoln County, South Dakota. It was to be in effect until 11:30 p.m., and was to affect George, Wilmont, and Lismore around 10:50 p.m.; Little Rock about 10:55; Ashton around 11. Sibley, Fulda, Boyden, and Matlock around 11:05; Sheldon, Hospers, Brewster, and Melvin around 11:10; Ocheyedan around 11:15; Sanborn, Heron Lake, Harris, and Archer around 11:20; and Lakefield, Lake Park, and Primghar about 11:25.
Just after 11 p.m., the weather service said that they received a report via social media of damage to a metal shed and many trees down in Sibley. The next report in our general area was of nickel-sized hail, three miles east-southeast of Harris, about 11:24 p.m. The very next minute, the Weather Service says a thunderstorm wind gust of 54 miles per hour was experienced three miles south-southeast of Lake Park.
A little bit later, two large tree branches were reported down in the community of Okoboji. That was about 11:40 p.m. They reportedly blocked Lakeshore Drive.
Also received with this storm were reports of heavy rain, with rates of around an inch per hour reported in some locations, and some wind gusts over 60 miles per hour.
Rainfall reports were spotty. We have three different reports from Sheldon. One was 64 hundredths, one was 85 hundredths, and one was over an inch.
