On the afternoon of May 21, 2024, a tornado tore across Iowa. It formed in the state’s heartland, gray and wide above the cornfields. Then it began to barrel directly toward the National Weather Service office in Des Moines. According to Iowa State University meteorology professor William Gallus, the station had a plan. “If a […]
National Weather Service
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Peak Iowa: Storm names coined in the state
It’s probably best not to dwell on what it says about life in Iowa that the names of two fearsome types of weather originated here. But in 1870, a northwest Iowa newspaper attached an already violence-laced word to the most violent sort of snowstorm, and 18 years later, a former UI professor borrowed the Spanish […]
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Iowa was one of eight states setting records during the country’s ‘warmest winter on record’
The seasons don’t officially change until next week when the spring equinox occurs at 10:06 p.m. (central time) on Tuesday, but meteorological winter is already over and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has now confirmed what seemed obvious on many days these past few months. “Meteorological winter was the warmest winter on record for […]
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Once Iowa storm chasers hunt down a supercell, there’s no turning back
As soon as Mark De Bruin had a car and a license, he was chasing storms. “Since I was a little kid, I would always go out on the porch and watch whatever storm came by my house, and I always just found them so fascinating,” said De Bruin, a junior meteorology major at Iowa […]
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Iowa City Community School District cancels classes for Thursday due to extreme cold
The Iowa City Community School District announced on Wednesday evening it had canceled all classes for Thursday “due to extremely cold temperatures.” The district also canceled its grab-and-go meal service for the day. Iowa City Schools will cancel all classes for Thursday, January 6, 2022, due to extremely cold temperatures. Please note, there will be […]
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National Weather Service issues its river flooding forecasts for spring
On Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) released it river flooding forecasts for spring. According to the NWS Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service, Iowa City shouldn’t see any river flooding during that period, but puts chances that the Cedar River will surge past flood levels in Cedar Rapids this spring at 25 to 50 percent. Flood […]
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Hundreds of Cedar Rapids homes, businesses in the path of the flood
The National Weather Service increased the predicted Cedar River flood level in Cedar Rapids by about one foot to 25.3 feet. The river is expected to crest Tuesday morning and fall back below flood stage by Friday. Nearly 400 commercial properties and 1,349 residences in Cedar Rapids will be in harm’s way if the Cedar […]
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Cedar Rapids prepares for flooding
In news that brings back painful memories of the 2008 flood, officials announced that the Cedar River is expected to rise above flood stage Sunday and reach 24.1 feet Tuesday morning, impacting businesses and homes in Downtown Cedar Rapids. Neighborhoods that would be impacted at that level include Time Check, Czech Village, New Bohemia and […]
