GREENFIELD, Iowa (KCRG) – On May 21st, 2024, an EF 4 tornado spun a trail of destruction through Greenfield. Nearby wind turbines were bent in half and set on fire. Dr. Bill Gallus, a Professor of Meteorology at Iowa State University, told KCRG-TV, that in addition to the hot and humid air, which fueled the storms on that fateful Tuesday, a short distance between the storms may have strengthened the Greenfield tornado.

Dr. Gallus said there was another tornado that was only passing maybe 5 miles to the northwest of the Greenfield tornado, [and while their] instruments [were] not nearly close together enough to understand exactly what happened, he thinks there was probably some type of interaction happening with those two tornadic storms.

Engineers design wind turbines to withstand wind speeds up to 140 miles per hour. Meteorologist and engineer Tim Marshall kept that in mind as he watched video of the Greenfield tornado. Marshall said they would normally anticipate the turbine blades would shred, and that they would come apart in pieces and that’s exactly what happened. The tower which supports the turbine nacelle and blades was stronger.

Now, scientists are using their knowledge of meteorology and wind turbines to upgrade the EF Scale. Engineers such as Dr. Partha Sarkar, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University, are working to better understand how tornado winds impair wind turbines.

WINTERSET, Iowa — Movie theaters in Winterset and Greenfield say they are not planning on showing the movie “Twisters” this summer. KCCI in Des Moines reports the Iowa Theater in Winterset made the announcement Tuesday on Facebook. Manager Scott Smith said he watched the trailer and felt uncomfortable with what he saw.

On March 5, 2022, Iowa experienced one of the deadliest and most damaging tornado outbreaks the state had seen in years, including an EF4 tornado that touched down in Winterset. Smith said the images in the movie hit too close to home. He said many of the visuals looked too similar to what happened in Greenfield this spring. A deadly EF4 tornado tore through the town located 25 miles west of Winterset in May, killing four people and injuring dozens more.

Movie poster for “Twisters”

In a statement made to KCCI, the manager of the Grand Theater in Greenfield, Deb Lundy, said: “The Grand Theater had been planning to show the Twisters movie since the beginning of the year. When the tornado hit us, I called my movie broker and between the two of us we decided it was not the right time for us to show that movie.”

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind 10 to 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 48.
Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 77. Winds becoming West at 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy w/a 20% chance of showers. High near 73.
Sunday Night: Cloudy w/a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 58.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 76. Our Low this morning was 50. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 81 and the Low was 57. The Record High here on Aug. 9th, was 111 in 1934. The Record Low was 44 in 1927. Sunrise today: 6:22-a.m.; Sunset: 8:28-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa home owners are seeing their insurance premiums rise and some companies are refusing to insure some properties altogether. Sonya Sellmeyer, a consumer advocacy officer in the Iowa Insurance Division, says there have been a series of rate increases since the derecho that hit Iowa in August of 2020.

“It just seems like ever since then we’ve just continued to get hit by storms. It costs a lot of money to repair that damage, for many different reasons — inflation, material costs have gone up,” Sellmeyer says. “The reinsurance that the companies themselves have has gone up for them.”

Reinsurance is basically insurance for insurance companies. Sellmeyer says Iowans facing a significant hike in homeowners insurance could consider a higher deductible — if it’s an amount they can afford. Sellmeyer is encouraging Iowans to have a discussion with their licensed insurance agent, to ensure their policy would cover the cost of replacing their home and its contents.

“You don’t want to be paying something, espeically as it becomes more expensive, that’s not going to give you what you really need to replace your home in case something would happen,” Sellmeyer says. “…And understand your riders that you have, too, on your policy or that you may need…Sump pump and sewer riders are very important.”

Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the U-S. There’s been a federal flood insurance program since the 1960s for property in a flood plain and a federal rule change in 2019 encouraged private companies to sell flood insurance policies. Sellmeyer says you can buy private flood insurance in Iowa even if your property is not in a flood plain. “I spent a weekend in Spencer, shortly after the flooding happened, with those survivors there and I strongly suggest all Iowans need to sit down with their insurance agent and see if this is something that they need,” Sellmeyer says.

According to the National Association of Realtors, home insurance premiums in the U-S are expected to rise about six percent by the end of the year.

Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 8am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 75. North wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts to around 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 47.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 74. North northwest wind 5 to 10mph, with gusts to near 20 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
Sunday Night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Low around 58.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 83. The Low was 55. We received .03″ rain overnight at KJAN. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 83 and the Low was 63. The Record High here on Aug. 8th, was 111 in 1934. The Record Low was 39 in 1904. Sunrise today: 6:21-a.m.; Sunset: 8:29-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a big year for bad weather in Iowa and state climatologist Justin Glisan says there’s a new record in an undesirable category — most tornadoes in a single year. “We’re about 127 tornadoes across the state, and that beats the record that was set back in 2004 with 121 tornadoes, and our season’s not over yet,” Glisan says. “So it’s been a very active severe weather season, with hail, high winds, we’ve had a derecho, but then all these tornadoes as well.” Tornadoes can strike during any month of the year, even during the wintertime. In 2021, Iowa had a record 63 tornadoes in a single day — in December. That was during the state’s second derecho in as many years, and that December outbreak set another record for most EF-2 tornadoes in one day — at 21.

As for the month ahead, Glisan says August promises to be something of a rollercoaster as far as temperatures. “Look at those short term outlooks that get us six to ten days out, so in the middle of the month, and they are showing a cooler signal, at least initially,” Glisan says, “Then you look at eight- to 14-day highlights, we’re getting into the third week of August, that’s where we see a slightly elevated signal for warmer temperatures coming back in.” Rainfall should be about average for August, though Glisan notes July’s rainfall was nothing close to average. “Particularly in eastern Iowa, we saw rainfall totals 150 to 200% of normal, so you’re two to three inches above average,” Glisan says. “Overall across the state, about five and a half inches, preliminarily, and that’s about 1.3 inches above average.”

The month goes into the books as the 6th wettest July on record for Iowa.

Today: Patchy fog between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Winds S/SE @ 5-to 10- mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 62.
Tomorrow: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Winds North @ 5-15 mph, w/gusts to 20.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 74.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 71. Our Low this morning, was 53. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 81 and the Low was 60. The Record High here on Aug. 7th, was 103 in 1937. The Record Low was 45 in 1989. Sunrise today: 6:20-a.m.; Sunset: 8:31-p.m.

Today: Mostly cloudy & breezy. High near 75. North winds 15-25 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. E/SE winds 5-10 mph in the morning.
Tom. Night: A partly cloudy w/a 20% chance of showers & thunderstorms late. Low around 61.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/a 20% chance of showers & thunderstorms before 1pm. High near 78.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 94. Our Low this morning, 63. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 74 and the Low was 64. The Record High here on Aug. 6th, was 105 in 1930. The Record Low was 46 in 1974 & 1997. Sunrise today: 6:19-a.m.; Sunset: 8:32-p.m.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. South southwest wind 5-15 mph, with gusts to around 20 mph.
Tonight: Increasing clouds. Low around 66. S winds @ 5-10 becoming N/NW after midnight & gusting to near 20 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly sunny, with a high near 78. N winds @ 15-25 mph.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
Wed. Night: Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 61.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. High near 80.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 94. Our Low this morning, 65. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 84 and the Low was 63. The Record High here on Aug. 5th, was 111 in 1918. The Record Low was 42 in 1978. Sunrise today: 6:18-a.m.; Sunset: 8:33-p.m.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 102. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5-10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. South southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. North wind around 15-25 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Wed. Night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 77.

Saturday’s High in Atlantic was 93. The Low was 64. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 82 and the Low was 65. The Record High here on Aug. 4th, was 110 in 1918. The Record Low was 38 in 1978. Sunrise today: 6:17-a.m.; Sunset: 8:35-p.m.