Rain, funnel clouds roll through region

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| Saturday, May 10, 2003 11:14 PM CDT | () comments

Thomas Geyer

Packing heavy rains, high winds, hail and funnel clouds, the storms that rolled through southern and east central Iowa and west central Illinois on Saturday were all that the National Weather Service, Davenport, had predicted.

At a rare news conference Friday, forecasters warned of the likelihood of severe thunderstorms known as supercells beginning in the southern portion of Iowa and moving northeast into the Quad-Cities and west central Illinois.

By Saturday night, the weather service's prophecies all had been proved true. But the good news was that there were no reports of injuries, and damage to properties were very limited.

"It was almost exactly what we expected in terms of the location, timing, intensity and the estimated extent of damage," weather service meteorologist Ray Wolf said. "It all started in the south about 4 p.m. and came on up."

Just about every county in southern and central Iowa and west central Illinois had a tornado warning issued at some time during the afternoon and evening hours as the storms rolled through.

According to reports, the only exceptions the Quad-Cities and surrounding areas were Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar and Johnson counties in Iowa and Rock Island County in Illinois, none of which was under any tornado warning, although all were under tornado watches throughout the day.

Beginning in the south and moving north and northeast to the central and eastern portion of Iowa, tornado warnings were issued at some point during the afternoon and evening hours in Lee, Van Buren, Davis, Wapello, Jefferson, Appanoos, Mahaska, Tama, Benton, Poweshiek, and Henry and Louisa counties in Iowa.

The Louisa County Sheriff's Department reported a house being destroyed in rural Winfield, as well as damage to sheds around Wapello. Power lines also were reported downed. Tornado warnings also were issued for the Iowa counties of Lafayette, Clayton and Grant, which are north of the Quad-Cities.

In Illinois, tornado warnings were issued in Mercer, Knox, Fulton, McDonough, Hancock, Adams, Schuyler, Mason, Stark, Henry, Peoria, Tazewell, Mason and Bureau counties.

The McDonough and Warren sheriffs' departments said the only report of damage was to two farm buildings northeast of Good Hope on the county line just east of U.S. 67. Warren County also had reports of golf ball-sized hail in different locations and reports of trees downed in Roseville, south of Monmouth.

North of that area, funnel clouds were reported shortly after 9 p.m. in areas near Preemption and Sherrard in northern Mercer County, but late Saturday there were no reports of damage.

A Rock Island County Sheriff's Department dispatcher said shortly after the storm passed by the area that her county seemed to escape everything, including tornado sightings. "It was all around us, basically Mercer County, especially Henry County (in terms of funnel clouds), but we have been lucky. It's gone all around us," she said.

Authorities in Henry, Knox and Mercer counties also reported no damage.

But the weather service received wide reports of hail, flash flooding, winds exceeding 60 mph, and tree and power line damage in places throughout the storm's path. In Thomson, Ill., in Carroll County, for example, there were reports of trees down over power lines. In Lee County, there were reports of car windshields being knocked out by 2-inch-wide hail.

The storm moved through the immediate Quad-City area between 8:45 p.m. and 9 p.m., and brought with it high winds and heavy rains.

Authorities reported that the southern part of Rock Island County was hit by heavy rain and hail up to 2 inches wide. Authorities throughout the Quad-City area reported a few incidents of flash flooding.

But just as quickly as it arrived, it passed on.

Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.