Underachieving Bow Echo Storm

With the eastern third of Iowa and most of Wisconsin and Illinois under a tornado watch since 12:30 PM CDT on Thursday, May 30, 2013, anticipation for the arrival of significant weather in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area was felt. What arrived, however, was a garden variety bow echo storm in which wind speeds never exceeded 30 mph at Echo Hill Presbyterian Church in Marion, where the top two images were captured. They show the approach of a shelf cloud from the southwest with C Avenue in the background. Rain and some lightning accompanied the passing of the storm. A corresponding DVN radar screen is shown at bottom.