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Dangerous Heat in Texas; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northern and Central Plains

Major to extreme HeatRisk will continue to impact much of southern Texas into next week, where widespread record-breaking highs and record warm overnight low temperatures are possible. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible mainly over parts of the Dakotas and Nebraska this afternoon and evening, and perhaps into far western Iowa and southwest Minnesota tonight. Read More >

Overview

A large low pressure system spun northeast across Iowa on January 16, 2023 drawing mild temperatures northward into the area and sparking some showers and thunderstorms over portions of eastern Iowa.  Temperatures had soared into the upper 40s to low 60s in parts of east central and southeast Iowa by early afternoon.  One storm was severe producing two tornadoes between 2 PM and 3 PM CST.   The first tornado touched down just northeast of Williamsburg, IA and the second one briefly touched down north of Ely, IA.  Some large hail up to the size of a quarter was reported in Homestead, IA from this storm at 2:24 PM.  Several other areas that the storm tracked over reported hail covering the ground.    

These were the first tornadoes reported in Iowa in the month of January since January, 24, 1967.

 

Image
Satellite Image with Surface Observations and Dewpoint (contour)
Jan. 16, 2023 18:56 UTC (12:56 PM)
Courtesy College of DuPage
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