Excessive Rainfall and Potential Tropical Cyclone in the South; Severe Thunderstorms in the Midwest

Excessive rainfall may produce locally considerable flash flooding over parts of the northwestern Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi River Valley, and Deep South through Thursday. Potential Tropical Cyclone One is forecast to become a tropical storm (Arthur) as it moves along or just off the northwestern Gulf coast through Wednesday. An outbreak of severe weather is forecast in the Midwest Wednesday. Read More >

On August 20th our office sustained wind damage to the roof due to a 77 mph wind gust which hit the southwest corner of the building at 7:01 PM. The wind peeled back the outer layer of the roof allowing rainfall to pour through the remaining structure. There were no injuries to staff members, who responded immediately to the damage by calling backup sites and powering down electronics equipment to prevent water damage. The Des Moines forecast office assumed back up responsibilities immediately using our radar which was still in operation.

Amazingly enough all PCs and work station computers came up the next day. Our main casualty was the phone system. A replacement system, sent from our regional head quarters, was installed, configured and operational by the 22nd.

Estimated time for roof repairs is approximately one week.

Take a look at at the pictures. The first few shots are of the roof the evening of the damage along with a couple of sky shots showing mammatus clouds above our radar. There are also two interior shots which show workstations covered in plastic in anticipation of further rainfall. Note the missing and wet ceiling tiles where water poured into the operations area. The final few shots are of the patched roof on August 21st.

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Excessive Rainfall and Potential Tropical Cyclone in the South; Severe Thunderstorms in the Midwest

Wind Gust Damages Roof at NWS Quad Cities, IA IL