Severe Thunderstorms in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest; Critical Fire Weather in the West; Dangerous Heat in the Central and Eastern U.S.

Severe thunderstorms are likely today across the northern Plains and into the upper Mississippi Valley. Gusty winds and dry conditions will result in widespread critical fire weather through Saturday across parts of the Four Corners region and the Great Basin. A significant and dangerous heat wave will expand from the Central U.S. into the Eastern U.S this weekend through much of next week. 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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Severe Thunderstorms in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest; Critical Fire Weather in the West; Dangerous Heat in the Central and Eastern U.S.

Wind Gust Damages Roof at NWS Quad Cities, IA IL