A line of severe thunderstorms brought heavy rain and reports of tornadoes to Iowa on Thursday, April 23.
Wind gusts became the primary concern Thursday night as the thunderstorms swept through central Iowa.
Here's what we know about rainfall totals and storm reports so far.
Were there tornadoes in Iowa?
The National Weather Service has confirmed at least six tornadoes in Iowa from Thursday's storms.
Little Sioux tornado
An EF-1 tornado was on the ground for 2.9 miles near Little Sioux at 1:46 p.m. before ending near Pisgah at 1:54 p.m. The tornado had peak wind gusts of 105 mph and a width of 500 yards.
Damage was reported to some farm outbuildings, powerlines and trees, according to the weather service. Two center pivots were also overturned in farm fields.
Audubon County tornado
Around 4:52 p.m a tornado touched down briefly near Irwin in western Audubon County. It was rated EF-Unknown with no damage reported along its 0.07-mile path.
Riverton tornadoes
Two tornadoes touched down near Riverton and ended near Farragut.
The first was on the ground from 5:34-5:37 p.m. and ran 1.76 miles with a peak wind gust of 70 mph. It was rated an EF-0 and only caused minor tree damage as it crossed open fields, the weather service reported.
The second, a smaller EF-Unknown tornado, touched down nearby at 5:34 p.m. and left a 0.52-mile path.
Coin/College Springs tornado
An EF-0 tornado was confirmed near Coin and College Springs in Page County around 6:17 p.m. It had a 2.11-mile path and wind gusts up to 70 mph. The path was mainly over open field and only caused minor tree damage, the weather service said.
Weldon tornado
Weldon was also hit by a tornado, the weather service confirmed. The EF-1 tornado touched down around 8:42 p.m. near Van Wert and continued for 2.17 miles before ending around 8:46 p.m. near Weldon.
The weather service reported that several trees were uprooted and some fell into homes.
Was there any tornado damage in Iowa?
Tornadoes were reported near Slater and Mitchellville in central Iowa on Thursday night. As of 4:40 p.m. Friday, the weather service was still investigating to confirm those reports.
In central Iowa, the sheriff's offices in Polk and Story counties told the Register they were not aware of any reported damage.
Iowa City had tree damage that was initially believed to be from a tornado, but officials confirmed the damage was caused by straight-line winds. About 3,500 people were initially without power.
What were the highest rainfall totals in Iowa?
Nearly two inches of rain were reported in some parts of the state.
Here are the highest totals as of 10 a.m. Friday, April 24, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet:
- Atlantic: 1.56 inches
- Ames: 1.39 inches
- Dubuque: 1.12 inches
- Webster City: 1.07 inches
- Boone: 0.93 inches
How much rain did Des Moines get?
Des Moines saw 0.87 inches of rain through 10 a.m. Friday.
To the north, Ankeny logged 0.24 inches, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Reports to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network showed totals ranging from 1.13 inches in Urbandale to 0.63 inches in Altoona.
Des Moines Register reporter Kyle Werner contributed to this report.
Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 6 tornadoes confirmed in Iowa on Thursday. See reports, rain totals.
