Where did two tornadoes touch down during thunderstorms in Iowa on Friday?
Two tornadoes touched down on opposite sides of Iowa when a bank of storms passed through the state on July 11. The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes outside the Quad Cities and near Clarinda, Iowa.
Dark clouds were seen over downtown Des Moines before a round of severe weather hit on Wednesday, July 1, 2024.
EF2 tornado touches down near the Quad Cities
The heavy rainfall in eastern Iowa started on July 10, and 2 inches of rain fell in less than four hours in eastern Iowa, NWS reported. Flash flooding
In the lead-up to the 2020 election, all eyes are on Iowa. Get updates of all things Iowa politics delivered to your inbox.
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities issued a rare flash flood warning on July 11. Downtown Davenport saw rapidly rising water that affected homes and businesses, NWS reported. Duck Creek flooded its banks, leaving roads impassable and vehicles stalled, the weather service reported.
The Quad Cities branch of the NWS determined that at least an EF2 tornado touched down in southwest Davenport on Friday around 5 p.m., maintaining 100 to 120 mph winds for much of its 7.2-mile path into Davenport, ending near Kimberly Road.
The strongest damage occurred at an RV dealership, where 15 RVs were flipped or turned, some thrown 10 to 15 feet, and a 25,000-pound motorhome was flipped on its side. Emeis Golf Course and a residential neighborhood also saw significant damage.
The tornado near Blue Grass snapped and uprooted 80 moderate to large trees as it traveled into western Davenport. Significant wind damage was reported in a narrow swath of that portion of the state.
Tornado touches down near Clarinda, Iowa
The National Weather Service in Omaha, which services eight counties in Iowa, confirmed that a brief tornado touched down in a field outside Clarinda, Iowa.
How many tornadoes have touched down in Iowa in 2025?
The National Weather Service reports 19 tornadoes have touched down in Iowa so far in 2025. May, usually a busy month for active weather in Iowa, saw no tornadoes. The EF2 tornado that touched down outside the Quad Cities on July 11 is the strongest so far in 2025.
In 2024, 125 tornadoes touched down in Iowa. The deadliest, the EF4 that struck Greenfield, Iowa, on May 21, killed five people and injured 35.
When is tornado season in Iowa?
There are three months in which over half of all U.S. tornado reports have occurred: April, May and June. These spring and summer months are the main times when all the ingredients for powerful storms and large tornadoes come together, according to Accuweather.
The busiest month for tornado activity is typically May, when the U.S. gets 22% of its yearly total of tornadoes.
When does Iowa typically get the most tornadoes?
Tornado season usually peaks in June or July in the upper Midwest, including Iowa, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service.
Even though tornadoes can happen any time of the year or at any time of day, they often occur between 4 and 9 p.m.
(This article was updated to add more information.)
Christopher Meglio and Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez contributed to this article.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor at the Des Moines Register.
