July 19, 2018 Tornadoes - Bondurant, Marshalltown, Pella

A KMZ File for All July 19th Tornadoes  Individual KMZ files below each track map

There are 5 additional EF-0 tornadoes not shown (in detail) below, but you can find them in the above KMZ file and the table below.

Tornadoes:

Tornado 1 - Marshalltown Marshall County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 4:24 p.m. - 4:47 p.m. EF Rating EF-3 Est. Peak Winds 144 mph Path Length 8.93 miles Max Width 1200 yards Injuries/Deaths 22/0 Summary: This tornado developed northwest of Marshalltown near the little hamlet of Marietta. The tornado traveled southeast on the western side of the Iowa River producing extensive crop and tree damage. The tornado strengthened quickly and took on a wedge appearance as it entered northwest Marshalltown. The tornado tracked more easterly as it entered town producing widespread EF1 and EF2 damage. The tornado went directly through the business district of Marshalltown with EF2 and EF3 damage to many structures including the county courthouse which lost the spire off the clock tower. The tornado continued east through housing areas before encountering the Lennox plant on the east side of town, producing EF3 damage once again. The tornado began to weaken rapidly after this point and dissipated east of the power plant. The tornado produced a total of 22 injuries. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 2 - Pella Marion County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 4:03 p.m. - 4:24 p.m. EF Rating EF-3 Est. Peak Winds 144 mph Path Length 9.59 miles Max Width 800 yards Injuries/Deaths 6/0 Summary: Tornado developed about 3 miles north of Pella and moved southeast for its entire length. The tornado initially remained in rural areas just north and northeast of the town producing crop, tree and minor structural damage to houses. The tornado began to intensify just northeast of town and shifted a house off its foundation. The tornado then encountered the Vermeer facility on the east side of town producing EF-3 damage to one of the large buildings along with numerous cars tossed about the facility. The tornado then crossed Highway 163 and moved through rural locations southeast of Pella for the remainder of its path. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 3 - Bondurant Polk County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:51 p.m. - 2:59 p.m. EF Rating EF-2 Est. Peak Winds 115 mph Path Length 2.99 miles Max Width 100 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed about a mile and a half west of Bondurant. The tornado initially traveled through agricultural fields. The tornado entered western Bondurant and produced EF2 damage to a house on the western side of town. The tornado weakened as it moved east through town with only EF0 damage on the east side of the community. The tornado entered an agricultural field on the east side of town before dissipating. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 4 - Bondurant North Polk County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:50 p.m. - 3:02 p.m. EF Rating EF-2 Est. Peak Winds 115 mph Path Length 3.8 miles Max Width 130 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed northwest of Bondurant concurrent with another tornado which developed due west of Bondurant. This tornado remained in rural areas north of Bondurant traveling to the northeast. Drone footage indicated impressive crop damage through corn and bean fields. The tornado encountered a farmstead shortly before dissipating producing EF2 damage to trees. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 5 - Ankeny Polk County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:47 p.m. - 2:49 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 80 mph Path Length 0.91 miles Max Width 50 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed just east of Interstate 35 in far eastern Ankeny moving northeast. Damage was observed to several trees along with other minor damage to fencing and playground equipment as it passed through a housing development. The tornado then moved into agricultural land before dissipating. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 6 - NW of Prairie City Jasper County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 3:18 p.m. - 3:24 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 75 mph Path Length 2.4 miles Max Width 60 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado remained in agricultural fields northwest of Prairie City for entire path length. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 7 - SE of Prairie City Jasper County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 3:29 p.m. - 3:36 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 75 mph Path Length 2.67 miles Max Width 80 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed southeast of Prairie City and tracked to the southeast. Remained in rural areas producing crop and tree damage before dissipating. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 8 - East of Monroe Jasper County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 3:45 p.m. - 3:52 p.m. EF Rating EF-1 Est. Peak Winds 107 mph Path Length 4.1 miles Max Width 100 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed east of Monroe and tracked southeast for entire path. Damage was mainly to trees and crops although a machine shed lost a small part of its roof near the start of the tornado. EF1 damage occurred with trees that had large trucks clearly snapped in two. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 9 - East of Otley Marion County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 3:51 p.m. - 3:56 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 65 mph Path Length 1.04 miles Max Width 20 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Brief tornado east of Otley with little if any damage. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 10 - Pella Satellite Tornado Marion County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 4:15 p.m. - 4:18 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 80 mph Path Length 1.16 miles Max Width 60 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: This was a satellite tornado to the main Pella tornado. It developed shortly after the main tornado crossed into Mahaska county and moved due south on the backside of the larger Pella tornado. It passed over a farmstead producing minor damage, otherwise it remained in cropland. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornadoes 11-12: E of Woolstock 1 & 2 Wright County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:35 p.m. - 2:47 p.m. 2:42 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 (both) Est. Peak Winds 75 mph/65 mph Path Length 4.46 miles/1.3 miles Max Width 80 yards/60 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 (both) Summary: Tornado developed in rural southern Wright County east of Woolstock and traveled east- northeast for the duration of the event. The tornado remained in rural ag fields producing only crop damage. The second tornado was a weak tornado that developed east of Woolstock shortly after the first and remained in farm fields. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 13 - Story City Story County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:52 p.m. - 2:57 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 65 mph Path Length 2.1 miles Max Width 40 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Short lived tornado just west of Story City. Remained in open agricultural land with only crop damage. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 14 - Blairsburg Hamilton County Date July 19, 2018 Time (Local CDT) 2:56 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. EF Rating EF-0 Est. Peak Winds 75 mph Path Length 2.7 miles Max Width 60 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: Tornado developed northwest of Blairsburg and moved northeast through agricultural land. The tornado dissipated just prior to crossing County Highway D20. Only damage was to crops. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Photos & Video:

Storm Survey Photos from Marshalltown, Pella, and Bondurant

Damage to Lennox in Marshalltown	Brick building with partial wall collapse in Marshalltown	Second floor of building gone in Marshalltown	Damage to homes in Marshalltown

Barn moved from its foundation and destroyed near Pella	Home shifted off the foundation with south addition removed near Pella	Damage with bowed in wall at the Vermeer Manufacturing Plant in Pella	Damage at the Vermeer Manufacturing Plant in Pella

Unattached garage swept away in Bondurant	Partial loss of roofing materials in Bondurant	Damage to roof in Bondurant	Upper floor of this home was removed in Bondurant

Central Iowa Tornado Outbreak - July 19, 2018 - Twitter Moments

July 19th Tornado Damage Photos courtesy of the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS Foundation

Video

Iowa Department of Transportation traffic camera of the tornadoes near Bondurant

Pella Tornado from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet

Radar:

Radar loops of the Bondurant, Marshalltown, and Pella tornadoes as well as an afternoon/early evening radar loop over central Iowa

Bondurant Radar Loop (Reflectivity (left), Velocity (right))	Marshalltown Radar Loop (Reflectivity (left), Velocity (right))	Pella Radar Loop (Reflectivity (left), Velocity (right))	Central Iowa Radar Loop from 2:10pm to 7:00pm on July 19, 2018 courtesy of the Iowa Environmental Mesonet

Satellite

Still images and loops of the Mesoscale Sector imagery from GOES-East satellite. National Weather Service offices can request a Mesoscale Sector during inclement weather so that we can have access to 1-minute satellite imagery. The normal operations of GOES-East provides 5-minute imagery.

Figure 1: GOES-East visible loop imagery beginning at 1:00 p.m. CT and ending at 6:00 p.m. CT on July 19, 2018. This is 1-minute resolution showing the tornadic supercells erupting over central Iowa. (Allow a few moments for the loop to load)	Figure 2: GOES-East 1 minute visible satellite loop from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT on July 19, 2018.	Figure 3: GOES-East 1 minute Clean Infrared satellite loop from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT on July 19, 2018. Cloud top cooling (yellows, oranges, and red surrounded by the greens/blues) is readily evident on the southern storm that affected Bondurant and Pella. Cloud top cooling to a lesser extent is also noted on the storm that affected Marshalltown.

Figure 4: GOES-East 5 minute visible satellite imagery over Iowa from 2:30pm to 5pm on July 19, 2018 courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological and Satellite Studies.	Figure 5: GOES-East 5 minute visible/Clean Infrared merged satellite imagery over Iowa from 2:30pm to 5pm on July 19, 2018 courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological and Satellite Studies.	Figure 6: GOES-East 5 minute visible satellite imagery near Marshalltown and Pella from 4pm to 5pm on July 19, 2018 courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological and Satellite Studies.

5-Hour Visible Satellite Loop of the Tornadic Event

Non-NWS Discussion of this event

CIMSS Satellite Blog discussion on the "Tornado Outbreak in Iowa" viewing various satellite products

Satellite Liaison Blog discussion on 19 July 2018 Iowa Tornadoes - GOES-16 and JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System)

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
901 PM CDT THU JUL 19 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1145 AM     FUNNEL CLOUD     4 NE CURLEW             43.01N 94.68W
07/19/2018                   PALO ALTO          IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            RELAYED REPORT FROM NWS IN CHICAGO, IL FROM 
            ONE OF THEIR SPOTTERS. 

1208 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     ROLFE                   42.81N 94.53W
07/19/2018                   POCAHONTAS         IA   PUBLIC           

            VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. 

0236 PM     TORNADO          5 S CLARION             42.67N 93.73W
07/19/2018                   WRIGHT             IA   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            FUNNEL SPOTTED WITH BRIEF DEBRIS. 

0248 PM     TORNADO          2 ENE ANKENY            41.74N 93.57W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   NWS EMPLOYEE     



0251 PM     TORNADO          4 W BLAIRSBURG          42.47N 93.72W
07/19/2018                   HAMILTON           IA   PUBLIC           

            VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. 

0258 PM     TORNADO          4 NNE BONDURANT         41.74N 93.44W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   PUBLIC           

            SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS TORNADO. 

0258 PM     TORNADO          4 NNE BONDURANT         41.75N 93.44W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            METEOROLOGIST REPORTS MACHINE SHED DESTROYED 
            WITH PINE TREES/POWER LINES OVER THE ROAD 
            NEAR THIS LOCATION. TIME ESTIMATED. 

0258 PM     TORNADO          3 N BONDURANT           41.74N 93.46W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            HIGHWAY 65 AND JUST NORTH OF BONDURANT. 

0301 PM     TORNADO          2 SE VALERIA            41.71N 93.29W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            WELL DEFINED CONE. 

0302 PM     TORNADO          2 N BLAIRSBURG          42.51N 93.64W
07/19/2018                   HAMILTON           IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR I35 AND MILE MARKER 149. 

0305 PM     TORNADO          1 W STORY CITY          42.19N 93.61W
07/19/2018                   STORY              IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE 

            BRIEF TORNADO JUST WEST OF STORY CITY. 
            LOCATION ESTIMATED. 

0308 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 WSW STORY CITY        42.16N 93.64W
07/19/2018                   STORY              IA   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            LOCATION APPROXIMATE. REPORTED WELL 
            NORTHEAST OF HIGHWAY 17 AND E18. 

0310 PM     TORNADO          BONDURANT               41.69N 93.46W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS 

            NEAR NE 118TH ST...NORTH AND EAST OF 
            BONDURANT. 

0312 PM     TORNADO          BONDURANT               41.69N 93.46W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            TREES DOWNED. ROOF BLOWN OFF HOUSE. CAR 
            BLOWN OVER. 

0313 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 E MAXWELL             41.89N 93.36W
07/19/2018                   STORY              IA   PUBLIC           



0315 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     MITCHELLVILLE           41.66N 93.36W
07/19/2018                   POLK               IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            JUST WEST OF MITCHELLVILLE. 

0321 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     STORY CITY              42.19N 93.59W
07/19/2018                   STORY              IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR I35 AND MILE MARKER 101. 

0323 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 SW SWAN               41.44N 93.33W
07/19/2018                   WARREN             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  



0325 PM     TORNADO          PRAIRIE CITY            41.60N 93.24W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            DEBRIS VISIBLE...NEAR HWY 163 AND WEST 29TH 
            ST. 

0331 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 N PRAIRIE CITY        41.64N 93.24W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   PUBLIC           

            EAST OF HWY 117 AND S 60TH ST. 

0334 PM     TORNADO          PRAIRIE CITY            41.60N 93.24W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            JUST SOUTH OF PRAIRIE CITY. 

0335 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     MONROE                  41.52N 93.10W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR HIGHWAY 163 AND MILE MARKER 25. 

0337 PM     TORNADO          2 E COLLINS             41.91N 93.27W
07/19/2018                   STORY              IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            LOCATION APPROXIMATE. 

0339 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     5 NNW MINGO             41.83N 93.31W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 65 AND HIGHWAY 
            210. 

0339 PM     TORNADO          3 W REASNOR             41.58N 93.09W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   PUBLIC           

            VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. 

0350 PM     TORNADO          PELLA                   41.41N 92.92W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  



0351 PM     TORNADO          3 E MONROE              41.52N 93.05W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            LOCATION ESTIMATED BY RADAR. 

0351 PM     TORNADO          MONROE                  41.52N 93.10W
07/19/2018                   JASPER             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR HIGHWAY 163 AND MILE MARKER 25. 

0400 PM     TORNADO          PELLA                   41.41N 92.92W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            FROM PELLA POLICE DEPARTMENT. NEAR PELLA 
            AIRPORT. 

0403 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     4 ESE MONROE            41.49N 93.03W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            NEAR OTLEY. 

0406 PM     TORNADO          2 N PELLA               41.44N 92.92W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  



0409 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     4 NNW PELLA             41.46N 92.94W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   PUBLIC           

            CONE TORNADO - VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. 

0410 PM     TORNADO          1 E PELLA               41.41N 92.89W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            VERMEER PLANT TOOK DIRECT HIT FROM TORNADO. 
            SEVERAL INJURIES REPORTED. GAS LEAK DANGER 
            AS WELL. 

0414 PM     HAIL             5 N PELLA               41.48N 92.92W
07/19/2018  E1.50 INCH       MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            ALONG THE JASPER AND MARION COUNTY LINE. 

0415 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     1 ESE ALBION            42.11N 92.97W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   PUBLIC           



0417 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     1 ENE CLEMONS           42.12N 93.14W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   PUBLIC           



0417 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     CLEMONS                 42.12N 93.16W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  



0419 PM     TORNADO          2 NW LEIGHTON           41.36N 92.81W
07/19/2018                   MAHASKA            IA   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            LOCATION ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. 

0420 PM     TORNADO          PELLA                   41.41N 92.92W
07/19/2018                   MARION             IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            MOVED PARALLEL WITH HIGHWAY 163. FARMSTEAD 
            HIT WITH TRANSFORMERS EXPLODING. 

0422 PM     TORNADO          3 E CLEMONS             42.12N 93.09W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  



0427 PM     TORNADO          4 NNW LEIGHTON          41.40N 92.81W
07/19/2018                   MAHASKA            IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0427 PM     TORNADO          4 E CLEMONS             42.12N 93.09W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            BETWEEN CLEMONS AND ALBION. NEAR THE 
            INTERSECTION OF 190TH AND MARSH. 

0430 PM     TORNADO          ALBION                  42.11N 92.99W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO ON THE 
            GROUND, ROUGHLY 1 MILE WEST OF THEIR 
            LOCATION. 

0450 PM     TORNADO          MARSHALLTOWN            42.04N 92.91W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   PUBLIC           

            MARSHALLTOWN COURTHOUSE LOST CLOCK TOWER. 
            TREES DOWN ALL OVER TOWN. 

0452 PM     TORNADO          LE GRAND                42.01N 92.78W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   PUBLIC           



0455 PM     TORNADO          2 NW MARSHALLTOWN       42.05N 92.94W
07/19/2018                   MARSHALL           IA   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            REPORTS OF CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE, INCLUDING 
            VEHICLES MISSING, VEHICLES OVERTURNED, TOPS 
            OF BUILDINGS GONE, TREES DOWN, POWER LINES, 
            GAS LINES, ETC... 

0512 PM     TSTM WND GST     4 SE KIRKVILLE          41.11N 92.45W
07/19/2018  M71 MPH          WAPELLO            IA   ASOS             



0512 PM     TORNADO          5 N OTTUMWA             41.09N 92.43W
07/19/2018                   WAPELLO            IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT  

            STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO A 
            RAIN-WRAPPED TORNADO NEAR THE OTTUMWA 
            AIRPORT. 

0542 PM     HAIL             2 W OTTUMWA             41.02N 92.46W
07/19/2018  E1.00 INCH       WAPELLO            IA   BROADCAST MEDIA  

            HAIL FELL BETWEEN 5:42 AND 5:45PM. 

Environment

A strong low pressure system tracked across southern Minnesota and pulled a warm across Iowa through the day on Thursday, July 19,2018.  Morning thunderstorm activity cleared early enough to allow the atmosphere to destabilize through the late morning into the afternoon hours. The focus for supercell development was along the warm front from around the Ames area south to the Missouri border. This warm front triggered supercells at it was passed through the Des Moines Metro and first report of a tornado came into the office shortly before 3 p.m. CT.  After a pair of tornadoes rolled through Bondurant, the tornadic supercells continued east and caused significant damage in Pella and Marshalltown.

Near-storm environment summary

Figure 1: Surface Based CAPE and CIN at 2 p.m. CT (1900 UTC)	Figure 2: 3 p.m. CT (2000 UTC) EHI (Energy-Helicity Index) is that storm rotation should be maximized when CAPE is large and SRH is large. 0-3-km EHI values greater than 1-2 have been associated with significant tornadoes in supercells.	Figure 3: 0-3km lapse rate (fill) and 0-3km MLCAPE (red) at 3 p.m. CT (2000 UTC)

Near-storm environment summary

Figure 4: 3-km CAPE (J/kg) and Surface Vorticity. Loop from Noon to 5 p.m. CT SPC Definition: Areas of large 0-3-km CAPE tend to favor strong low-level stretching, and can support tornado formation when co-located with significant vertical vorticity near the ground.	Figure 5: Effective Storm Relative Helicity (ESRH). Detailed Definition	Figure 6: Surface based CAPE increased from the late morning into the afternoon hours.

Synoptic environment - Surface and Upper Air Map Analysis

Figure 7: July 19 12z (7a) 850mb heights showing closed low over northeastern South Dakota, westerly winds at Omaha and Topeka with south-southeast winds at Minneapolis and Davenport	Figure 8: July 19 12z (7a) 700mb heights also showing closed low over northeastern South Dakota. Note winds are southwesterly at Davenport at this level compared to 850mb.	Figure 9: Loop of surface analysis