Power Outage in Council Bluffs, IA

Fire chief reported power lines and power poles down for about 1/4 mile.

Winds gusted up to 58 mph. Up to 100 people were without power due to downed lines.

Emergency management reported that around a quarter inch of ice accumulation. This was mainly confined to trees, elevated surfaces, and power lines.

This short-lived tornado impacted a number of farmsteads as it tracked quickly to the southeast. The tornado downed trees, power lines, and completely destroyed outbuildings along its path. The tornado was embedded within a larger area of damaging winds associated with this intense supercell.

Law enforcement reported scattered damage across town. This included trees downed and power line damage.

Tree damage, which knocked down some power lines, was mainly reported on the northwest side of Council Bluffs. At the peak there were 3168 customers around Council Bluffs without power.

A bowing thunderstorm complex that brought fairly widespread tree damage to a large part of Omaha moved into the Council Bluffs area and then eventually through much of Pottawattamie and southern Shelby counties. Many trees were split or uprooted in Council Bluffs which caused damage to vehicles and homes and brought scattered power outages to town. A wind gust of 60 mph was measured by thw Awos at the Council Bluffs airport at 1010 am CDT.

A bowing thunderstorm complex that brought fairly widespread tree damage to a large part of Omaha moved into the Council Bluffs area and then eventually through much of Pottawattamie and southern Shelby counties. Many trees were split or uprooted in Council Bluffs which caused damage to vehicles and homes and brought scattered power outages to town. A wind gust of 60 mph was measured by thw Awos at the Council Bluffs airport at 1010 am CDT.

Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph downed 4 power poles and flattened some crops in extreme western Pottawattamie county.

A tornado touched down near the entrance to the Westfair Amphitheater damaging numerous trees and outbuildings in the area. About half the bleachers on both the west and east sides from the Westfair arena were torn from their foundation anchors and ended in a tangled pile and power poles were damaged. The total track of the tornado was about 1 mile long and a quarter mile wide.

Thunderstorm winds downed a lot of 3 to 4 inch diameter tree limbs knocking the power out to parts of Council Bluffs. Around 5,500 customers lost power mainly across the western parts of town.

Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph caused tree damage across parts of Council Bluffs which in turned downed power lines knocking out power to around 4,000 people in town.

Thunderstorm wind gusts of around 60 mph downed large tree limbs from Council Bluffs to southeast of town. One limb caught a power line going into a house pulling the mast off exposing live wires which started an attic fire.

Thunderstorm wind gusts of around 60 mph downed large tree limbs from Council Bluffs to southeast of town. One limb caught a power line going into a house pulling the mast off exposing live wires which started an attic fire.

Freezing rain accumulated around 1/2 inch over much of the county. Although winds weren't particularly strong, the weight of the ice caused scattered tree damage and power outages.

An estimated 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch of ice accumulation fell over much of the county. When the winds picked up during the winter storm/blizzard that followed the ice storm, the ice covered power lines began whipping in the wind causing scattered power outages over the region. Since the following winter storm/blizzard made many rural roads and even main highways impassable over the Christmas weekend, some people remained without power into Tuesday the 29th.

A mix of freezing rain and sleet accumulated around 1/2 inch over most of the county. An inch or two of snow then fell on the mixture before the precipitation ended late Thursday night. Although the mixture created hazardous driving conditions and stuck to vehicle windshields, accumulation on trees and power lines was somewhat limited.

This is a continuation of a 5 to 7 mile wide damage path that a bow-echo thunderstorm caused across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. In Pottawattamie county Iowa it was estimated by a NWS storm survey that winds reached 70 to 90 mph in an area from Council Bluffs to southwest of Treynor and north of Mineola. There was a concentration of tree damage across this area, which also caused house and vehicle damage. Two adults were killed and one young female adult was injured in Council Bluffs when a tree crushed the parked car they were sitting in. Two Semis were blown off the Interstate near Council Bluffs and grain storage units near Treynor sustained serious damage. In Council Bluffs damage was also noted at the City's Recreation Center, the Public Library, the traffic building and a restaurant and golf course. Damage to trees alone in the northwest part of the city amounted to $275,000. From Council Bluffs the damage swath persisted to areas south and southeast of Macedonia, though wind speeds were estimated to have weakened to 60 to 70 mph. MidAmerican Energy reported that 13,000 customers lost power from the storm in southwest Iowa, including around 11,000 in the Council Bluffs area. According to FEMA and local emergency management damage across the county came to at least $13 million.

A local media meteorologist measured a wind gust of 74 mph in Council Bluffs. The strong winds caused scattered tree damage in town including downed power lines.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph downed large tree limbs which fell onto power lines near 35th and West Broadway Streets.

Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph downed numerous tree limbs in the northern and eastern sections of Council Bluffs. Power was knocked out for several hours for 150-175 homes.

A line of storms that developed over western Nebraska and South Dakota moved into a highly unstable airmass with 2500-3000 J/kg MLCAPE leading to widespread wind damage across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. According to the Omaha Public Power District, nearly 200,000 customers were without power.

A winter storm brought some ice to the area. Initial forecasts also called for 2 to 5 inches of snow, but dry air in the mid levels resulted in freezing drizzle throughout the duration, and snowfall of one half inch or less. Ice accumulation ranged one or two tenths of an inch in some locations. A few power outages were noted and travel was at times difficult. A winter weather advisory was issued for all counties, and eventually a winter storm warning for a few counties.

A powerful and slow moving storm system spread heavy rainfall from the southern Plains into the central Plains over a two day period from 13th through the 14th of December. The closed upper level low pressure moved from the southern Plains on the 13th through the central Plains on the 14th and along and to the northwest of this track very heavy rainfall was observed. Rainfall records were set across the area with Omaha setting daily rainfall records for 3 consecutive days from the 13th through the 15th. The system was anomalously warm for December and thunderstorms were observed in many areas on the 13th of December. Colder air finally did work into the storm during the early morning of the 15th and resulted in some light snow over east central Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The most significant aspect of the storm system though was the resulting river flooding for the region.

A powerful winter storm moved into the central Plains during the weekend of March 9-10th. The system initially brought warm weather and scattered showers and thunderstorms on the evening of the 8th into the morning of the 9th. As the main upper level storm system emerged on the Plains late on the 9th, a strong cold front moved from northwest to southeast across the area. Precipitation redeveloped behind this cold front associated with the upper level storm system, and quickly changed from light rain to light snow during the morning of the 10th. The snow, occasionally heavy, then continued through the day on the 10th and ended in the early morning hours on Monday March 11. Also associated with the system were strong northwest winds. Wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph were common during the day on Sunday March 10th leading to considerable blowing and drifting of the falling snow and reducing visibilities. This combination led to numerous traffic accidents, and for authorities to close Interstate 29 for a time north of Missouri Valley in Harrison and Monona Counties. Most schools were closed on Monday the 11th due to the poor travel conditions. Some of the higher snowfall totals ranged from 8.3 inches in Harlan, 9.2 inches in Mapleton, 10 inches in Earling, and 11.5 inches in Little Sioux. Generally snowfall amounts of 6 to 10 inches were common with the event.

A winter storm developed over the western United States on December 18th, and then moved into the central Plains on the 19th producing heavy snow, localized areas of sleet and freezing rain, and in some areas blizzard conditions. Light rain developed during the late morning and early afternoon on December 19th as moisture spread north into the area from the south. As cooler air worked into the storm system from the north, the rain mixed with and eventually changed over to snow. The change over from rain to snow initially occurred over central Nebraska, spreading into northeast and east central Nebraska, and eventually west central Iowa by mid to late afternoon. Snowfall coverage and intensity increased into the evening hours as the upper level storm system moved through Kansas. Areas of thunder snow were reported in parts of east central Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain over parts of southwest Iowa during the event before finally changing over to all snow just before midnight. The change-over from rain to snow also occurred just before midnight over parts of far southeast Nebraska. As the area of surface low pressure deepened and moved through Missouri toward eastern Iowa, northwest winds increased across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. Wind speeds of 40 to 50 mph were common from late evening on the 19th into the morning hours of the 20th. The combination of falling temperatures and increasing winds led to significant blowing and drifting of snow and areas of blizzard conditions, especially in open areas. Winds also combined with the initially heavy wet nature of the snow to create power outages for over 45,000 customers across the area. The heaviest snow fell in a band from Butler and Seward County in Nebraska, through the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas, and into west central Iowa. In this band 8 to 10 inches of snow were common with isolated amounts up to 10 inches reported in Saunders and Sarpy County in Nebraska. To the north and the south of this band snowfall amounts were lighter with 3 to 6 inches common. There were also reports of over a quarter inch of sleet and freezing rain in southwest Iowa around Page County, before the precipitation switched over to all snow. The storm finally came to an end by mid day on the 20th as the system pushed off to the east and the winds diminished.

A large upper level low pressure system moved from the Rocky Mountains onto the plains. Rain developed ahead of the system and then turned to wet snow during the evening and overnight hours of February 3rd. Although north winds increased into the 15 to 30 mph range, blowing and drifting was limited to a degree by the wetness of the snow. However, the wet snow stuck to trees and caused some tree damage and scattered power outages, mainly from west of Lincoln through Lincoln and into the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Total snow from the storm was generally 8 to 12 inches with amounts that tapered off to a few inches around Norfolk to Tekamah and 3 to 4 inches from the southeast corner of Nebraska into far southwest Iowa.

An upper level disturbance that lifted across the central plains caused a weak area of low pressure to lift across the area. The disturbance brought slightly milder and moister air aloft which produced freezing rain with pockets of substantial glazing. The hardest hit area was north through east of Omaha with some areas northeast of Omaha, especially around the Harlan area, picking up between 1/2 and 1 inch of ice. The weight of the ice caused tree damage and power outages. Some schools in the area were closed for 2 days because of lack of power and/or slick roads. Thousands of customers lost power, some for at least several days, with the hardest hit area from around Sioux City southeast through Harlan.

A bow echo that developed northwest of Omaha produced a 5 to 7 mile wide swath of significant damage surrounded by a larger area of lesser damage from about 40 miles northwest of Omaha to 50 miles to the southeast. Wind speeds in the core of the damage path were measured at 77 mph at the NWS in Valley before the wind equipment failed and a private citizen reportedly measured 98 mph winds on their home weather equipment in far west Omaha. A storm survey done by the NWS estimated that the damage was caused by straight-line winds which reached speeds of 100 to 115 mph in some areas.||The damage swath started in north central Saunders and south central Dodge counties Nebraska and ended in southern Pottawattamie and northern Mills counties Iowa. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along the path of the significant damage along with snapped power and street light poles and scattered house and outbuilding damage. Corn and other crops in the path were shredded nearly to the ground.

The second ice storm in two weeks hit parts of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa from Monday evening December 10 into Tuesday morning the 11th. Warmer and more moist air spread northeast across the area Monday evening over a cold and least partially snow-covered ground. Temperatures earlier in the day were only in the 20s with most dew point temperatures in the teens. ||Freezing rain moved into southeast Nebraska a little after 700 pm and spread northeast into southwest Iowa by 900 or 10 pm. The northern section of the freezing rain area mixed with sleet and then changed to snow by morning, with some 1 or 2 inch snow accumulations noted. The southern sections remained mostly freezing rain for most of the event. Ice accumulations ranged from between 1/4 and 3/4 of an inch in far southwest Iowa to around 1/4 inch just east and northeast of Omaha.||Some tree and power line damage was observed, especially in sections of Page and Fremont counties. The freezing rain and sleet mixture limited ice accumulations on trees and power lines a bit east and northeast of Omaha with much less damage to trees and minimal power loss. However, the wintry weather forced the postponement of many schools across the area.

A widespread ice storm affected eastern Nebraska and western Iowa Saturday December 1st, 2007. Warm and moist air spread rapidly north across the region on a strong low level jet that was in excess of 50 mph. The moisture fed north over a retreating Arctic air mass, with temperatures in the 20s and dew point temperatures in the single digits and teens just after midnight. The freezing precipitation began over much of the area between 3 and 4 am, and was preceded or initially mixed with a little sleet. Surface temperatures and dew points climbed to freezing or a bit above about 5 to 7 hours after the precipitation began. Ice accumulations of around 1/4 inch fell over most of the area. Although there were reports of tree limbs down, traffic accidents and power outages, the rise in temperatures to freezing and above helped mitigate a lot of the damage.

A dangerous and powerful winter storm hit western Iowa during the early to mid morning hours of Thursday, March 1, 2007. Strong winds and scattered snow showers continued to produce blizzard or near blizzard conditions over a large part of western Iowa through Friday. Although skies cleared Friday night, substantial blowing snow continued over a large part of the area into Saturday afternoon. |This storm brought heavy snow combined with very strong northwest winds to create whiteout conditions and near zero visibility. Wind gusts were frequently over 35 mph with peak gusts of 45 to 58 mph recorded Thursday and 35 to 45 mph measured on Friday. Travel became impossible and hundreds of motorists were stranded, some for many hours. Many roads and highways were closed for 48 hours, including both Interstates 29 and 80 in western Iowa. The storm was associated with an unusually deep low pressure system, which bottomed out around 979 mb over central Iowa Thursday afternoon. The storm initially developed quickly over eastern Kansas late Wednesday. |Some of the heavier snow amounts for the 24 hours ending Friday morning included...| |Across the Omaha Area; Boystown 12.8 inches, Bennington 12.0, Valley NWS 12.0, Omaha Eppley 7.1|Elsewhere in eastern Nebraska; Tekamah 11.2 inches, Fremont 9.5-10, Tecumseh 9.5, Syracuse 9.0, Bennett 9.0, Uehling 8.0, Springfield 7.0, Lincoln 6.6|Over western Iowa; Harlan 16 inches, Onawa 12, Little Sioux 11.7, Underwood 11.2, Oakland 9.5-13, Glenwood 9.5, Hancock 9.2, Kennebec 8.5, Sidney 8.0, Logan 8, Shenandoah 7, Randolph 7, and Red Oak 6.

This winter storm began when mixed precipitation moved from Kansas north and northeast into southern Nebraska during the early morning hours of the 9th...eventually spreading across much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa throughout the daytime and into the evening on the 9th. The precipitation type was snow with the following exceptions: rain fell across southeast Nebraska on the morning of the 9th, and some freezing rain and freezing drizzle fell mainly along Interstate 80 and the Platte River during the early morning hours of the 9th. Sleet may have also been mixed in during the early morning hours, but it was very brief and sparse. The freezing precipitation did result in some glazing, although it was fairly thin. However the glaze did precede the snowfall, making for a slippery surface beneath the snow. Gusty winds were also a factor with this storm. As the surface low passed southeast of eastern Nebraska, north or northeast surface winds gusted to over 40 mph in some locations, especially during the afternoon and evening of the 9th. This resulted in considerable blowing and drifting snow, with visibilities of one-quarter mile being reported at some locations. Snowfall totals varied greatly across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Amounts ranged from one-half inch in the Columbus area, to a maximum of 10 inches in the northern part of Lincoln. The heaviest snow, generally 5 to 9 inches, fell from around Fairbury and Crete northeast through Lincoln and Omaha and then into southwest Iowa from near Little Sioux to near Red Oak. Besides the 10 inches in north Lincoln other heavier snow totals included...9 inches at Hickman, 8 inches at Gretna and Fairbury, 7 inches at Lincoln, Raymond, Papillion and Wilber and 6 inches at Friend and the NWS in Valley, Nebraska and Oakland, Glenwood, Red Oak and Randolph, Iowa. Many schools were closed on the 10th as a result of the snow and blowing snow. Numerous traffic accidents were reported, along with a few minor power outages in the cities of Omaha, Elkhorn, and Blair.

Rain changed to snow from west to east across eastern Nebraska and part of west central Iowa from late Saturday morning 02/09 through late afternoon. The snow ended over much of eastern Nebraska and west central Iowa by 2 or 3 am on the 10th, although strong winds continued to cause blowing and drifting snow. The changeover to snow was accompanied by north winds which gusted between 40 and 50 mph. Although snow amounts weren't excessive from this storm, generally 2 to 5 inches, the strong winds caused substantial blowing and drifting snow. This was especially true north and northwest of Omaha where the rain changed to snow the earliest and had less moisture content. The blowing and drifting snow closed highways north of Fremont and north and east of Norfolk, Nebraska. In addition, highway and interstate travel in west central Iowa, northeast of Omaha, was also greatly restricted for a time. Because the snow was wetter from around Fairbury northeast to Omaha, and points north and northeast, the blowing and drifting was not as pronounced. However, the since the wet snow stuck to power lines and trees, numerous power outages occurred when the winds picked up. OPPD estimated over 8000 customers lost power around and to the north of Omaha.Higher snow amounts included...6 inches at Wayne, 5 in Little Sioux, Iowa and Uehling, Nebraska and 4 inches in Blair, Madison, Tekamah, West Point and Schuyler, Nebraska and Castana, Iowa. Higher wind gusts included 52 mph in Beatrice, 51 mph in Columbus and 46 mph at Norfolk.