(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters warn that severe weather is possible later today (Friday) for wide sections of Iowa, with hail, high winds and tornadoes possible. Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service, says Iowans will need to stay weather aware and keep connected with the changing forecast.
“We’ve got storms that are going to be firing here this afternoon, roughly 4 to 5 PM at the earliest, firing over the western portions of the state,” Dodson says, “and those are going to be tracking eastward as we move into the evening and then lasting really through around midnight over the span of Iowa.”
Dodson says this storm system will be capable of generating all sorts of dangerous threats. “Damaging winds and large hail are our main concerns. Large hail primarily with those initial storms, but it could be occurring throughout the entire event. Damaging winds will be possible through the entire event as well,” Dodson says.
“We could be looking at some heavy rain with these storms, and then there is also a small potential for a tornado as well with those initial storms early in the evening.” Some weather models indicate winds late today could peak around 75 miles an hour, that’s hurricane strength.
“There’s definitely a high-end damaging wind threat with this, more later in the event as the storms grow and evolve,” Dodson says. “That’s usually more of a mature storm thing, but it very well could happen with some initial storms, too.”
The forecast calls for the possibility of more severe weather each day through Monday, so Dodson says Iowans will want to pay close attention to the daily forecast, especially if they have outdoor weekend plans.
