Iowa — The year 2024 wrapped up as one of Iowa’s worst in history for severe weather. State climatologist Justin Glisan says among the many incidents, a record was set for the most-ever tornadoes to touch down in Iowa during a calendar year.
That July derecho was devastating, but wasn’t nearly as severe as the one that blasted across Iowa in August of 2020, which caused some 11-billion dollars damage in Iowa and four other states. After several previous years of drought, parts of Iowa had record rainfall during 2024, which brought unprecedented results.
Hundreds of homes were lost to the flooding, while dozens of Iowa counties were declared state and federal disaster areas — between the flooding and tornadoes. Glisan says the unusual weather events continued into the latter part of the year.
As for what’s ahead, Glisan says long-range forecasts call for bitter cold for perhaps another two weeks, with high temperatures peaking 20 degrees colder than normal. He says the forecast models are still uncertain as to how much precipitation we may get.
