Tornadoes
- 16 tornadoes were documented from this event in the NWS Quad Cities County Warning Area (CWA).
- The four strongest tornadoes all had maximum winds near 110 mph (EF1), and those were the Delta, IA;Wellman to Frytown, IA;Bennett to Lowden, IA;and Coyne Center, ILtornadoes.
- This was the most tornadoes in a single event for the CWA since the March 31, 2023 outbreak.
- This overall event from central Nebraska through northwest Illinois was documented as a derecho(widespread, long-lived complex of wind-producingsevere thunderstorms), and derechos can produce numerous tornadoes during their lifecycle.
Damage Assessment Toolkit Viewer
Damage including Tornado TracksKMZ File for NWS Quad Cities, IA/ILCWA
Individual Tornado Details (listed in chronological order)
.jpg "May 24, 2024: Summary of Derecho and Severe Weather Outbreak (3)")
See Also
NWS confirms EF0 tornado near Des Moines was one of 5 on FridayUpdates: Severe thunderstorm warning looming over Johnson County as storms arrive
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph | EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph | EF2 Significant 111-135 mph | EF3 Severe 136-165 mph | EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph | EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
 | |||||
Forecasts
| NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Day 1 Outlook (issued at 8 A.M. CDT) | |||
 |  |  |  |
| SPC Convective Outlook | SPC Tornado Probability Outlook | SPC Wind Probability Outlook | SPC Hail Probability Outlook |
| NWS Severe Thunderstorm Watches | |
 |  |
| May 24, 2:42 A.M.: Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Central and much of Eastern Iowa | May 24, 6:08 A.M.: Severe Thunderstorm Watch for far Eastern Iowa and all of Northern Illinois |
| NWS Quad Cities Weather Story Graphics | ||
 |  |  |
| May 23 Afternoon: Weather Story Graphic issued highlighting timing | May 23 Evening: Weather Story Graphic highlighting key messages, threat, and threat area | May 24 Pre-Dawn: Weather Story Graphic highlighting storms and timing |
Photos
 |
| ||
| View from NWS Quad Cities at passage of shelf cloud. Photo: NWS Employee. | Shelf cloud view from near border of Henderson and Knox Counties in Illinois. Photo: NWS Employee. | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Delta, IA (NWS Survey) | Wellman, IA (NWS Survey) | Riverside, IA (NWS Survey) | Near Ground Mound, IA (NWS Survey) |
 | ||
| Coyne Center, IL (NWS Survey) |
Radar
 |
| Radar Loop from 1 A.M. through 12 P.M. CDT on May 24 (courtesy of College of DuPage) |
| IEM Radar Loop |
Storm Reports
 |
| SPC Storm Reports: May 23(through 7 A.M. CDT May 24) | May 24(after 7 A.M. CDT) |
| IEM Local Storm Reports |
Rainfall
 |  |
| Friday and Friday Night Rainfall Totals | Composite Method of Precipitation Totals Friday and Friday Night |
for eastern Iowa, northwest and west central Illinois,and northeast Missouri. Reported between Midnight and 9 AM,Saturday May 25, 2024.....IOWA....Bellevue LD12 1.80Bellevue 12.2 NW 1.70Dubuque Arpt 1.63Parnell 0.1 SSW 1.55Dubuque #3 7 SW 1.50Asbury 0.6 S 1.40Dyersville 1.7 ESE 1.38Solon 0.4 WNW 1.34Central City 6.7 W 1.31Anamosa 3 SSW 1.30Calamus 2.0 NE 1.26Dubuque 1.0 SE 1.24Davenport Arpt 1.20Cedar Rapids 2.1 NW 1.18Dubuque 1.4 WNW 1.15Iowa City Arpt 1.15Dubuque LD11 1.14Yarmouth 1.9 SW 1.12Eldridge 0.7 SSW 1.12Monticello 1 E 1.10De Witt 1.08Solon 0.3 ESE 1.07Danville 2.9 W 1.03Park View 0.2 WSW 1.02Lowden 1.01Wapello 5.4 SE 1.00Cedar Rapids Arpt 0.96Muscatine 3.0 NE 0.94Farmington 3.5 W 0.92Farmington 2.4 W 0.91Muscatine 1.7 N 0.91Donnellson 0.91Muscatine 2N 0.91Farmington 0.3 NW 0.90Farmington 0.4 NNW 0.89Wapello 0.2 S 0.88Iowa City 2.3 E 0.87Fort Madison 0.9 NE 0.85Davenport 0.9 WNW 0.84Marion 1.7 NNW 0.82Davenport 4.3 NE 0.75New London 1.5 SW 0.73Davenport 2.1 N 0.70Salem 1S 0.70Fort Madison 4.5 NNW 0.65Burlington 6.5 SSW 0.64Camanche 1.2 W 0.62Marion 0.9 NE 0.62Strawberry Point 0.61Anamosa 0.6 ESE 0.59Burlington Arpt 0.58Mount Auburn 2.2 NNW 0.56Dundee 1.4 NNE 0.55Guttenberg Dam 10 0.47Iowa City 2.7 E 0.46Robins 0.8 SE 0.42Belle Plaine 0.38Marion 0.4 NNW 0.36Rathbun Reservoir 2 N 0.35Iowa City 0.33Centerville 0 NE 0.32Washington 5.8 SW 0.26Oelwein AWOS 0.23Washington 0.23Tiffin 1.2 NE 0.22Pella 4 N 0.22Allerton 2 S 0.22North Liberty 0.7 SSW 0.20Oelwein 1E 0.20Pella AWOS 2 WSW 0.19Waterloo ASOS 5 NW 0.19Hayesville 0.2 SW 0.18Ames US 30 2 SSE 0.18Ottumwa ASOS 6 NNW 0.17Mason City 1 NNE 0.14Grinnell AWOS 2 SSW 0.13Fairfield 0.13Oskaloosa AWOS 9 ESE 0.10Williamsburg 0.10Hampton 1 N 0.07Marshalltown 1 NW 0.06Marshalltown ASOS 4 N 0.03Mason City ASOS 6 W 0.03NWS Johnston* 5 NNW 0.01....ILLINOIS....Stockton 4.5 N 2.21Stockton 3.4 NNE 2.12Stockton 3 NNE 2.12Stockton 4.6 NW 1.85Lanark 5.3 N 1.78Elizabeth 1.78Decatur Airport 1.78Hanover 0.2 NW 1.71Stockton 5.9 WNW 1.66East Dubuque 1.7 SE 1.65Freeport 1.65Davis 0.5 N 1.62Ogden 1.60Lena 0.3 SSE 1.56Freeport 2.9 WSW 1.47Winslow 4.3 ESE 1.42Mount Carroll 6.8 NNW 1.41Viola 0.4 E 1.20Shannon 2.7 E 1.16La Harpe 1.12New Boston LD17 1.05Moline 0.7 NNE 0.99Illinois City 6.7 SW 0.97Stronghurst 0.4 SSW 0.96Ill. City LD16 3 WNW 0.96Sterling 5.9 NNE 0.90Rock Falls 3.1 S 0.87Aledo 0.87Quad City Arpt 0.79Galva 0.4 NW 0.78Fulton LD13 0.78Gladstone LD18 0.75Colona 0.5 ESE 0.72Kewanee 1 E 0.65Tuscola 0.62Galesburg 0.60Geneseo 2.0 NW 0.59Windsor 0.53Romeoville 0.50Joliet Arpt 0.47Rockford Arpt 0.43Colchester 3.5 NE 0.28Lincoln NWS 0.28Bloomington Airport 0.27Quincy Arpt 0.25Macomb 3.8 NW 0.24Peoria Arpt 0.22Rochelle Arpt 0.22Macomb 0.20McNabb 1.4 NW 0.19Steward 0.13St Anne 0.00Ottawa 4 SW 0.00Augusta 0.00Jacksonville Arpt 0.00....MISSOURI....Chillicothe Arpt 0.40Kirksville Arpt 0.33Columbia Arpt 0.09....WISCONSIN....Madison Arpt 2.25Brodhead 1 SW 1.45Beloit-College 1.05Whitewater 0.88Sullivan-NWS 2 SE 0.59Steuben 4SE 3 NE 0.49Prairie du Chien AWOS 0.44Viroqua 0.17La Crosse WFO 0.15Watertown-Arpt 0.02
Science & Environment
Understanding Damaging Wind ThunderstormComplexes
Surface Weather Map
 |
| 4 A.M. CDT 5/24/24 Surface Weather Map.Despite the time of day, temperatures and especially dew points were increasing markedly from the south as strong low pressure lifting into the Upper Midwest. Gusty southeast surface winds in response over the NWS Quad Cities CWA resulted in high values of low-level shear and helicity (i.e. strong turning winds with height). Dew points were reaching 70 degrees, which is notably high for a May early morning at this latitude. |
Weather Balloon Soundings
 |  |
| 7 A.M. CDT (12Z) 5/24/24 DVN Sounding | 1 P.M. CDT (18Z) 5/24/24 DVN Sounding |
KDMX VAD Wind Profiler (VWP)
 |
| 3 A.M. through 5 A.M. CDT (from right to left) 5/24/24 KDMX Radar VAD Wind Profile (VWP). This was immediately upstream of the NWS Quad Cities CWA, and represents the environment immediately ahead of the derecho (extreme values of low-level helicity) as well as the rear-inflow jet of 70-80 kt (80-95 mph) supporting it in the last two samples. |
NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC)Mesoscale Discussions
 |  | |
| MD 925 | MD 926 | MD 927 |
Links
- Western to Central Nebraska Summary (NWS North Platte)
- South Central Nebraska Summary (NWS Hastings)
- Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa Summary(NWS Omaha)
- Central Iowa Summary(NWS Des Moines)
- NWS Storm Prediction Center Event Page(SPC)
