July 20 Spring Reset Storms

 

Forecasts for severe weather on July 20, 2026 for areas of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and western Wisconsin were remarkably springlike, with plenty of moisture and forcing in play. The Convective Outlook (shown above) from the Storm Prediction Center at 11:30 am CDT on July 20 shows significant areas of categorical (Enhanced Risk), tornado, hail and wind.

This mesoscale discussion posted by the SPC around 1:55 pm forecasted the likelihood of a tornado watch probability at 95%, with all other severe hazards on the board. With the "hotspot" for tornadoes being forecasted in extreme northeast Iowa and a line of storms beginning to initiate along the Minnesota/Iowa border, I decided to head north from Cedar Rapids on Highway 13 with a target being around Decorah in Winneshiek County around 2:00 pm. Around 2:50 pm storms tracking southeast in north-central Iowa went severe warned, distracting my interest to my original objective. I was then advised to abandon the northeast intercept and turn west, which I did, just south of Strawberry Point in Clayton County. (Storms never did initiate in the northeast).

With an eye of radar and the storm's southeast track, I negotiated myself through the towns of Dundee and Lamont, then headed south on Highway 187 to US Highway 20, then proceeded west. The image above, captured at 3:22 pm CDT, looks west from US Highway 20, about 1.2 miles WSW of Winthrop, Iowa in Buchanan County. The storm seen low on the horizon is located about 75 miles distant, in Franklin County. Storm tracking was toward the lower left of this image.

3:24 pm. Westbound on US Highway 20 about 4.4 miles east of Independence, Iowa in Buchanan County. Severe-warned storm looming ever closer.

3:31 pm. A quick stop at the Independence Walmart to obtain my situational awareness and be advised of a cell to the west of more significant potential, now located near Parkersburg, Iowa in Butler County. I had spotted at this very location on April 14 of this year.

3:35 pm. Under the storm's anvil westbound on US Highway 20, about 2 miles west of Independence.

4:18 pm. Radarscope image, showing my location (blue target icon) and the red tornado-warned polygon. The area near Grundy Center in Grundy County went tornado warned around 4:00 pm. Storms were still tracking to the southeast.

 

4:28 pm. Because of the storm's swift progress (around 40 mph), I realized I had to get south to get to a safer location south of the storm, and I was not currently in a good orientation. This image shows the storm directly ahead of me while westbound on Highway 8, with a tail cloud feeding into it at left. I am a quarter-mile east of Highway 21--my next left turn (south). This location is just north of Dysart, Iowa in Tama County.

4:32 pm radar image, showing the red tornado warning polygon and my blue target icon spotter's location.

4:40 pm radar image. Now stopped at my brief spotting location on 210th Street at Highway 21, 2 miles south of Dysart, Iowa. 

4:41 pm. Looking west from 210th Street at Highway 21. Tornado-warned storm, now exhibiting a shelf cloud appearance, is quickly bearing down upon me.

4:42 pm. A panoramic version of the image above it, with my vehicle in the foreground.

4:45 pm. Similar view.

4:47 pm. Looking southwest from 230th Street at Highway 21, 4 miles south of Dysart. Leading edge of storm is almost upon me! Time to bail and head south (left).

4:55 pm. Southbound on County Road V42 (15th Avenue), about 4.5 miles north of Keystone, Iowa in Benton County. A lowering can be seen in the background. I had unfortunately allowed myself to get swallowed up in the storm and now found myself fighting to negotiate through the high winds and rain. 

5:00 pm. (GoPro Hero 4 frame capture). Southbound on County Road V42 (5th Avenue) in Keystone, Iowa. I was being blasted by 60 or more mph winds, which at the moment I was unable to determine if they were tornadic, RFD or straight line. It got a little dicey from here too. From Keystone I continued south to US Highway 30, then back east toward Cedar Rapids. Almost the entire way I was blasted by wind and rain and spent all of it concentrating on staying on the road! But eventually back safe and sound.

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How We Viewed Our Independence Day

 

We decided to do something different this year for the Fourth of July as far as fireworks viewing, so we headed up to Central City, Iowa, where a dusk fireworks display was held from the Linn County Fairgrounds. On the way there, mother nature had her own special viewing as well. This view looks east at 8:04 pm CDT while northbound on Highway 13 just south of Central City. Occurring at this time was a towering updraft with a lowering beneath it -- but with no watches or warnings attached.

 

Close-up of the lowering.

8:25 pm. Now at our fireworks viewing location on Marion Road South at Central City Road just outside the fairgrounds. This view looks southeast at a sunlit sheared cloud from the previously seen updraft. The system is now dissipating.

9:49 pm. Fireworks under way. Five second exposure at f/5, ISO 100, 27mm focal length.

9:50 pm. 5 second exposure at f/8, ISO 100, 27mm focal length.

A group of four fireworks bursts with similar exposures and settings.

9:48-9:49 pm. Blend of three separate exposures, each 5 seconds at f/8, ISO 100, 27mm focal length.

Another blended image, this one with two exposures. The fireworks display lasted about 15 minutes. Nikon Z6ii camera. 

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July Storm Clouds

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

While visiting in Waterloo, Iowa on Thursday, July 2, 2026, storms rolled in during the afternoon hours--some severe. This image of dark sky looks north from Tilbury Road at 2:03 pm CDT. The left horizon looks toward Waverly, Iowa in Bremer County to the northwest, where the most intense area was located about 17 miles distant. Toward the right horizon and to the northeast was located two tornado-warned cells near Oelwein, Iowa in Fayette County, about 34 miles distant.

Radarscope images corresponding to 2:06 pm showing the Waverly direction (left panel) and the Oelwein direction.

2:04 pm. Looking southwest at an approaching anvil cloud at 2:04 pm CDT as seen from Tilbury Road. This storm cell would mainly produce heavy downpours of rain after it arrived in the Waterloo area. 

The following day (Friday, July 3) 5:18 pm CDT. Looking northeast at billowing updraft from our home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Though this departing storm cell was not severe warned, it was still robust and visually impressive. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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End of the World Vision?

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 actually had two separate rounds of severe weather in Eastern Iowa. The first round, shown above, was a bit of a "baby derecho", blowing through quickly without many preliminaries--visually speaking. This image, which looks south, was captured at 12:10 pm CDT and was located on Sutton Road, about a quarter mile south of Central City Road in northern Linn County, Iowa. Estimated wind speeds here were from 50-60 mph.

3:00 pm CDT. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) posts an updated Enhanced Risk for the day, also showing tornado, hail and wind probabilities for Eastern Iowa.

Round two. With tornado warnings being issued for the far southern border of Iowa with Missouri starting around 4:00 pm, I headed south from Cedar Rapids in pursuit of a possible interception. As it turned out, the tornadic storms would stay south and west of my range, but weather radio reports continued to blare tornado warnings for Decatur, Appanoose and Davis counties. My first spotting location (above) was at the McDonald's in Mount Pleasant, Iowa in Henry County. Storm clouds are gathering in the west sky at 5:17 pm. I would soon vacate this location in favor of one with better all-around visibility.

5:43 pm. New location at Detrick's Truck and Trailer Service LLC on Winfield Avenue in Mount Pleasant. This image looks south as the storm was approaching from the southwest.

5:54 pm. Looking southwest. At this point the tornadic storms to the west and south are now becoming more outflow dominant as it approaches my location, and the distinct look of a shelf cloud is now apparent. An earlier warning notification at 5:06 pm stated "a confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was located near Moulton (Iowa)".

5:56 pm. Despite its outflow dominance, this storm still features a robust and solid inflow cloud feeding into it. Image looks northwest.

5:57 pm. Looking southwest. Note the striated layers above the shelf cloud, giving this scene an apocalyptic appearance. Though shelf clouds often look more scary than their wall cloud cousins, they are usually less dangerous. The striated layer feature above the shelf cloud is caused by updrafts of warm, humid air being lifted, rotated and sheared by the storm's dynamics. The shelf cloud itself is cold air overrunning moist warm air.

5:58 pm. The center of this storm had a lower and thicker aspect to it, prompting me to give it extra attention for the possibility of a QLCS embedded spin-up.

5:58 pm. The dramatic joining spot (center) of the severe-warned storm's outflow (left) and inflow (right). The inflow cloud looked so solid that in my imagination I wondered if you could walk along the top of it like a causeway... (not really).

6:00 pm. Weather.us radar image, showing my location (target icon) and arrows indicating storm motion. 

6:00 pm. Southwest view of the leading edge of the approaching storm. The classic "end-of-the-world" appearance.

6:00 pm. The heavy and thick center of the shelf cloud. It merited several long looks to make sure there wasn't a tornado in there.

6:02 pm. Dramatic view to the southwest as the leading edge of the storm approaches my position.

6:02 pm. Looking northwest. Another view of the connection of the storm's outflow and inflow clouds.

6:03 pm. The storm is moments away. The line at right which was once the inflow cloud now accelerates in my direction. Time to leave this place and head back home! Heavy rain, high wind and frequent lightning ensued, and accompanied me almost to Iowa City on my way north to Cedar Rapids. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Late Show at the Pictures

 

A recent family vacation that included a four day, 46-mile backpacking trek in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan provided the following images of sunsets and a post-sunset capture of three planets. All of these images were shot from the shore of Lake Superior at the Twelvemile Beach Campground on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Because of this area's high latitude (46° 38' 20") and time of year, sunset did not occur until around 9:30 pm. The above image was captured at 9:16 pm EDT. It is a 1/200 second exposure at f/13, ISO 100, 24mm focal length.

9:28 pm. 1/100 exposure at f/9, ISO 125, 24mm focal length. There was no wind, meaning the lake had a smooth, glassy appearance.

9:42 pm. This image features sunbeams emanating from behind the dark horizon cloud and a distant flock of geese flying through the scene. 1/60 second exposure at f/9, ISO 125, 24mm focal length.

10:30 pm. Three planets are visible in the waning sunlight. In descending order from upper left are: Jupiter (magnitude -1.88), Venus (magnitude -3.86) and Mercury (magnitude -0.53). Mercury is faintly seen above the dark cloud. At upper right is the -0.54 magnitude star Capella in the constellation Auriga. 1/25 second exposure at f/1.8, ISO 500, 35mm focal length. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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A Bust and a Blip

Dire forecasts for severe weather, including "intense" tornadoes and "tornado outbreaks" were predicted by many weather sources for Monday, April 27, 2026, several days in advance, including a Moderate Risk for areas in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois on the morning of the expected event. For the most part it did not happen, and would be described by many as a major "bust"--weak to no storm events. Eastern Iowa was included in the predicted tornado "hatching" area the day before, but saw nothing...except the small "blip" event that occurred during the late afternoon of April 27. Around 4:00 pm a small storm cell formed near the border of Tama and Poweshiek counties, began to intensify and moved in an east-to-northeasterly track toward Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Radarscope reflectivity capture above from 5:03 pm CDT shows the cell with lightning and small areas of hail as it began to draw attention.

5:12 pm. Radar capture. Pink areas showing hail is increasing as the storm approaches. 

5:20 pm. The storm draws near to my location at Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids. This image looks west. A lowering feature which included a brief weak rotation and a wispy funnel was observed. 

Corresponding Radarscope capture to the photo above it showing reflectivity (top) and velocity (bottom). My location is indicated by the blue target icon.

5:22 pm. The storm is ever closer, but has now lost its rotational appearance and looks more "whale's mouth" outflow dominant.

5:24 pm. The leading edge of the (outflow) storm seen in the northeast sky as it pushes through. Nikon Z6ii camera.

5:31 pm. Radar capture. Largest area of hail (pink) just north of my position. Reports from the nearby town of Robins told of "quarter size hail that littered their yards." This prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to tag this storm as severe warned.

5:35 pm. Hail size comparison to a dime at my location five minutes after the largest of the small stones had fallen. iPhone 11 camera. This isolated event was the only severe occurrence in the state of Iowa, and generally speaking in the midwest, happening this day. A mere "blip."

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