Northwest Iowa — More severe weather was experienced in northwest Iowa on Thursday evening, but less damage was reported with the storms.
The event started at 5:25 p.m., when the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center issued a severe thunderstorm watch for northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota, effective until midnight Thursday night. They said the primary threats would include large hail, possibly to two inches in diameter and damaging wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour.
At 7:10 p.m., the weather service’s Sioux Falls Forecast Office issued a severe thunderstorm warning for north-central Lyon County as well as parts of three southwest Minnesota counties — Rock, Nobles, and Pipestone. They mentioned two-inch hail and 60 mph wind gusts as the primary threats.
At 7:53 p.m., they issued another severe thunderstorm warning for portions of Lyon, Osceola, and O’Brien counties in Iowa and Rock and Nobles counties in Minnesota. Golfball-sized hail and 60 mph wind gusts were mentioned as primary threats.
At 8:20 p.m., a 62-mph gust and nickel-sized hail was measured a mile west of Sibley by a storm chaser. At 8:27 p.m., one-inch or quarter-sized hail was reported three miles east-southeast of Sibley.
The weather service issued another severe thunderstorm warning at 8:35 p.m. for portions of Osceola, Dickinson, Clay, and O’Brien counties, for a storm near Melvin moving southeast at 40 miles per hour. The same threats were mentioned.
At 8:45 p.m., penny-sized hail was reported five miles east of Melvin. Ping-pong-ball-sized hail was reported at 9:01 p.m. four miles north of Moneta. After that, the storms appear to have weakened and moved out of the area.
