Power Outage in Moline, IL

A trained spotter reported power poles down and sign damage at Applebees in Moline. Winds were estimated as over 80 MPH.

Strong winds caused a large tree to snap and fall on the power lines.

A large tree and powerlines were damaged .

Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Rock Island County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total, even though the initial line of storms moved out fast. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were reported up to 80 mph These estimates were determined based off damage surveys and photos submitted through social media. These strong winds extensively damaged most trees, crops, and a few structures in their path. Prolonged power outages resulted from this storm damage.

A citizen reported multiple trees and power lines blown down.

A trained spotter reported 2 to 3 inch tree limbs down and power is out. The time of event was estimated using radar.

Damage to trees and power lines was widespread in the Quad Cities metro area, on both Iowa and Illinois sides of the river.

Local broadcast media reported a large tree branch was blown down. This tree branch took down a power line which started a fire to a house.

The public reported a large power pole was snapped half way up near 106th Ave and US 67 with the report received via Facebook. The time of the event was estimated by radar.

ASOS and AWOS airport observations roughly along and north of Interstate 80 indicated wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph through the 11 am to 3 pm period, with the strongest wind occurring around 1 pm. These winds brought trees and power lines down at Moline, in the 3800 block of River Drive reported around 2 pm. A semi trailer was blown over near the Colona Illinois exit on Interstate 80.

In addition to the hail, trees were blown down along Avenue of the Cities in Moline. Also there were power outages in the same area.

Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph snapped off a 6 inch tree limb onto a power line about 2 miles east northeast of Coyne Center, IL around 530 pm June 23.

Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down a large tree branch in Moline, IL at 611 am July 21. A power outage was also observed.

Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew down several trees and power lines in Moline, IL at 7:47 pm June 12.

A few branches were downed onto power lines across the city.

An indirect injury occurred on February 27, when a 9 year old Silvis, Illinois female suffered an electric shock when she grabbed a power line downed from the ice storm. According to the Quad City Times newspaper, the line she grabbed was not live, but as she was pulling on it, the line crossed with a live wire and she was shocked. She was seriously injured, but weeks later was released from the hospital.

Measured gust from KMLI ASOS that was confirmed by FAA backup equipment. A Hampton Inn under construction on the northeast side of the airport was demolished and a nearby interstate highway sign was blown over.NWS survey concluded a microburst occurred on the west edge of the airport. Considerable damage was done to a group of homes, outbuildings, power lines, and trees just outside the airport perimeter. The wind gust of 107 mph bested the old record wind gust of 81 mph at KMLI which was set on 21 August 1987.

Many trees were downed across the city. Trinity Medical Center on 7th Street lost all electrical power for several hours. Limited power was available for the facility through emergency generators.

Also reported by emergency manager. Southwest part of lower Rock Island county from the Mississippi River to just west of Reynolds. Power lines down with corn flattened.

Trees and power lines down throughout the county. Approximately 3,400 homes and businesses were without power.

More organized clusters of severe storms tracked through Dubuque into far northwest IL during the evening and late night hours of June 24. Another storm cluster moved through the Quad Cities, producing wind gusts to 70 mph at the Davenport ASOS and damage to trees and power poles in Rock Island and Henry Counties in Illinois.

There were two rounds of severe thunderstorms on April 4th. The first round in Illinois occurred during the morning hours. These storms developed in eastern Iowa and moved into northwest Illinois by mid morning. Despite the elevated nature of the storms and a very stable low level, a very strong downdraft surge occurred south of the hail core over the Illinois side of the Quad Cities metro, with the Quad City Airport ASOS measuring a wind gust near 90 MPH. Extensive damage occurred from Rock Island to Colona IL to buildings, trees and power poles, with some structures seeing ripped-off roofs. A survey team determined a brief tornadoes touched down in Moline, Colona, and near Geneseo Illinois.

A weaker winter storm moved into the area and added more ice and snow to the snow pack received the other day. This system moved in from the south and brought along a strong pull of warm air aloft. This led to a lot more ice accumulation than was expected prior to the event. While the storm was supposed to lead to mostly snow for the northern half of our forecast area, those areas received mainly freezing rain and sleet through most of the afternoon. This led to widespread ice accumulations of 0.10-0.25. This resulted in some downed tree limbs and power outages were a result.||Mid afternoon, the freezing rain began to switch to snow from a line around Iowa City, IA to Freeport, IL. Another band of snow set up just east of the Mississippi, where reports around 3 were noted in the Moline area. Overall, these were relatively light snowfall accumulations with most locations in northwest Illinois seeing 1 to 3 inches.

A potent winter storm produced widespread heavy snow, along with freezing rain and sleet, across the region in the afternoon and through the evening of the 29th into the early morning hours of the 30th. 8 to 12 inches of snow fell in the heaviest band between Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 20. The highest freezing rain accumulations occurred from near Oquawka to Kewanee IL, where 0.2 to 0.3 inches of glaze ice was reported. Key impacts: transportation delays and traffic accidents, along with some isolated power outages.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms impacted much of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and northeast Missouri during the early morning of August 20. This line of storms produced wind gusts to 70 MPH and several reports of wind damage. Several trees and power lines were taken down in Mediapolis, Monmouth and Roseville.

A strong cold front moving southward during the day on the 2nd brought strong, gusty northwest winds to western Illinois. Sustained wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph caused damage to trees, power lines, and personal property. The winds were the strongest from 7AM to 7PM CST.

A potent low pressure system tracked from eastern Oklahoma and western Missouri into northern Illinois and the Great Lakes region, from December 28th to the early morning hours of the 29th. An unseasonably warm and moist airmass interacted with the system to produce heavy mixed precipitation across western Illinois. Heavy snow, sleet accumulations up to 2-4 inches, and a glaze ice amounts over a quarter inch were reported across the region. The ice and strong winds gusting up to 50 mph resulted in widespread downed trees and powerlines, and power outages. The hardest hit areas, with glaze ice amounts of 1/4-1/2 inch, were located along and south of Interstate 80. The highest amounts of combined snow and sleet, in the 3-5 inch range, occurred in northwest Illinois.

A strong Arctic air mass flooded into northwest Illinois on January 22, 2014 in the wake of a powerful cold front. Low temperatures on the morning of January 23, 2014 ranged from -5 to -9 degrees with winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph to produce dangerously cold wind chill values below -30 along and north of Highway 30. Wind chills continued to between -20 to -30 Thursday morning into Friday along and north of Interstate 80. Conditions slowly improved from north to south beginning early in the morning of January 24, 2014.

A cold front pushing into a very moist and unstable airmass triggered numerous severe thunderstorms on May 30, 2013. Deep layer shear was moderate to strong and freezing levels were in the 11-12k foot level, which was ideal for large hail. The storms produced damaging winds, large hail and several weak tornadoes. An EF1 tornado touched down in Andalusia, IL around 445 pm CDT and traveled due north. This weak tornado crossed the Mississippi River and moved through eastern sections of Buffalo, IA. Wind speeds were estimated to be 95 mph. Some large trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. Some of the fallen trees fell onto houses. In extreme northeast Missouri, wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph produced heavy tree damage throughout Scotland County. Several outbuildings were damaged and about 30 power poles were snapped. The tree damage was mainly located between Bible Grove and Memphis.

A very unstable airmass on May 19, 2013 led to the development of severe thunderstorms that produced large hail and damaging winds. Temperatures were in the 80s with dewpoints around 70 with a mid level speed maximum rotating around the base of a developing upper low in the Plains states. This increased the deep layer shear during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of the storms produced golf to baseball size hail and 70 to 80 mph winds. A trained spotter reported baseball size hail knocked out sky lights at the Walmart store in northeast Keokuk. Golfball to baseball size hail was reported on the north end of the city, with nickel to quarter size hail on the south end of the city. A downburst produced wind damage in Benton county from the county line 3.5 miles southeast of Blairstown to 2.8 miles southeast of Shellsburg. There was a mile wide swath of near continuous damage to farm outbuildings, tree branches and some power poles. The greatest damage was from 3 miles south of Newhall, where a machine shed and garage were completely destroyed, to about 3 miles northwest of Atkins, where significant damage occurred to outbuildings. The emergency manager in Buchanan county reported a downburst with winds more than 70 mph struck Independence, Iowa. The northwest side of town sustained the most damage with trees down, power poles snapped and signs blown down.

A powerful storm system tracked across the Upper Midwest late on March 4th through the 5th bringing snow to western Illinois. In addition to the snowfall, strong northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph caused significant blowing snow across the region. The heaviest snow fell along and to the north of Interstate 80 where 6 to 8 inches was reported with 2 to 4 inches falling south of the Interstate.

A large and slow moving intense low pressure system tracked out of the southern Plains and into southern Illinois and then to Lake Erie on February 26-27, 2013. In the meantime, an upper level low pushed across western Illinois and into the western Great Lakes region. This cyclone spread moderate to heavy snow across much of the area with snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches common, with isolated higher amounts. Wind gusts were in the 30 to 35 mph range producing some blowing and drifting as temperatures hovered near the freezing mark. At the height of the storm, snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were reported. The highest amount of snow was 11.8 inches northeast of Downing, Missouri in Scotland county. An observer near Stanley, Iowa in Buchanan county measured 10 inches with almost 9 inches near Farmington in Van Buren county. At Freeport, Illinois in Stephenson county nearly 8 inches was reported. Due to the heavy wet nature of the snow, combined with strong winds and temperatures near freezing, some power outages were noted.

A powerful storm system moved from the Southern Plains on Wednesday morning into Michigan by early Friday morning. This brought a wide array of weather to northwest Illinois through the period. Precipitation began as rain on Wednesday evening and quickly changed over to snow along and north of a line from Keokuk County to Linn County to Johnson County to across Carroll, Jo Daviess, and Stephenson Counties. Snow continued heavy at times through the night across Carroll, Jo Daviess, and Stephenson Counties while to the south rain with isolated thunderstorms occurred. A powerful cold front swept through northwest Illinois on Thursday morning changing the precipitation over to all snow from west to east by afternoon. In addition, winds switched to the northwest and increased rapidly to 25 to 35 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph. This created blizzard conditions across all of northwest Illinois as the front passed, reducing visibility to a half mile or less for several hours. Conditions began to improve rapidly from west to east on Thursday evening as the storm system departed to the east.

A blizzard struck portions of eastern Iowa and western Illinois on December 11-12, 2010. A strong upper level disturbance and powerful jet stream began diving out of the northern Rockies. Low pressure then formed across the northern Plains and tracked into western Iowa. This cyclone then intensified considerably as it pushed into northern Illinois. Even though snowfall was generally only in the 1 to 4 inch range, strong winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph generated blizzard conditions in some locations. The worst blizzard conditions were observed west of Interstate 380/Highway 218 in eastern Iowa, and also in portions of western Illinois. Roads were impassable and drifts several feet high which stranded some motorists. The strong winds also toppled a tree onto a house in Marion, Iowa and flipped a metal shed off its cement foundation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

A warm front and an upper level disturbance sparked some showers and thunderstorms during the evening of September 5. Some damaging winds knocked down trees and power lines in parts of Rock Island County, but for the most part severe weather remained far north of the area in central Wisconsin.

An ice storm occurred on December 23, 2009 in portions of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. Ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch were common which coated trees and power lines but temperatures in the lower 30s kept most roads wet. Scattered power outages and some broken tree branches were reported as winds gusted to 35 mph.

A very intense storm system tracked from the Oklahoma Panhandle to western Illinois and then to Lake Huron. This had the lowest barometric pressure (975 mb or 28.79 inches) in the Midwest since the November 10, 1998 storm that also moved through the upper Midwest. This powerful winter storm produced very heavy snowfall, blizzard conditions and bitterly cold temperatures on December 8-9, 2009. Snow amounts of at least 10 to 15 inches were common north of a Fairfield, Iowa to Sterling, Illinois line. The largest amount was an incredible 17.7 inches at Orangeville, Illinois in Stephenson county. Other amounts included 15 inches at Brighton, Iowa (Washington county), Mt. Vernon, Iowa (Linn county) and at Freeport, Illinois (Stephenson county). Snowfall was much lighter in southeast Iowa, extreme northeast Missouri and west central Illinois. Here snow accumulations were 1 to 4 inches as rain and sleet mixed with the snow. A band of freezing rain from Burlington, Iowa to Sterling, Illinois coated trees and power lines with up to 3 tenths of an inch of ice. A few locations also reported thundersnows with snowfall rates of nearly 2 inches per hour. There were scattered power outages and some tree branches down. Numerous accidents and vehicles sliding into ditches were reported across the region. Many schools and businesses were also closed. In addition, winds gusting over 50 mph produced widespread blizzard conditions across much of eastern Iowa and extreme northeast Missouri, reducing visibilities to near zero on December 9.

A powerful arctic cold front swept across the region on December 20-21, 2008. Ahead of the front, 1 to 3 inches of fluffy snow fell during the afternoon of December 20. The snow was confined to locations in Iowa and Illinois along and north of Interstate 80. After this snowfall ended by evening, snow depths north of Highway 34 ranged from 5 to 12 inches. With the passage of the arctic cold front, northwest winds gradually increased to 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph late in the evening on December 20 through the day on December 21. This created ground blizzard conditions with frequent whiteouts as visibilities were reduced to 1/4 mile or less, especially in rural and open areas. With temperatures below zero, wind chill readings were as low as 30 to 40 below zero. The combination of blizzard conditions and very cold temperatures made for a dangerous situation.

A bowing line of severe thunderstorms, known as a Derecho, raced across Iowa and Illinois during the early morning hours of July 21 producing|widespread wind damage in about a 60 mile wide swath just south of Interstate 80. Winds gusting over 70 miles an hour toppled trees, ripped siding and shingles off homes and businesses, and left much of the region without power. A tree fell onto a tent at the Indian Trails Resort in Colona, IL killing two children and a dog and injuring 4 other children.

A large area of freezing rain fell across the region on December 10-11, 2007. This precipitation occurred on the cold side of a stationary frontal boundary that extended from the southern Plains to the lower Ohio Valley. Ice accumulations were in the 1/4 to 1 inch range, with snow and sleet mixed with the freezing rain in some areas. The ice knocked down some trees and branches, with scattered power outages reported. Temperatures gradually rose above freezing the morning of December 11 from I-80 southward, melting the ice. In addition, most counties were declared either a state or federal disaster area.

On December 1, 2007 a strong low pressure system tracked from western Kansas to northern Wisconsin. Warm moist air aloft, combined with surface temperatures below freezing, created ideal conditions for a significant ice storm. Some areas also reported significant accumulations of sleet. Ice accumulations of 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch, combined with winds gusting to 30 to 40 mph, knocked down some branches and trees causing scattered power outages. Law enforcement reported many cars that slid into ditches. However, the impacts from this storm were much less, when compared to the crippling ice storm that struck the region on February 24, 2007.

A widespread and crippling ice/snow storm affected eastern Iowa, northwest and western Illinois, and extreme northeast Missouri on February 24, 2007. This massive ice storm was the worst to affect the region since January 22-23, 1965. Ice accumulations of around one inch were common, with some reports to near two inches! To make matters worse, east winds gusting over 50 mph, combined with the heavy ice accumulation, brought down numerous tree branches and power lines, along with several thousand power poles. There were even whole trees crashing down from the weight of the ice. Widespread power outages occurred, affecting over 180,000 people, which lasted more than a week in some of the rural areas. Many shelters were opened to accommodate those without power. In the northern portions of the region in the colder air, snow was the problem. Accumulations of up to 7 inches occurred, with strong winds combining to create blizzard conditions. There was one direct death and one indirect serious injury due to the ice storm in northwest Illinois.

A winter storm moved along a frontal boundary from the southern Plains and into the Great Lakes region. During the night of 15 February mainly light mixed precipitation fell over eastern Iowa, northwest and west central Illinois, and far northeast Missouri due to a shallow layer of cold air near the surface. Mainly snow was seen west of Dubuque along highway 20 and rain along the Illinois River. A complete change over to all snow occurred during the afternoon of 16 February as the depth of the cold layer increased.Between 0530 and 1100 CST on 16 February two lines of elevated thunderstorms moved through the area. These storms were prolific hail producers with numerous reports of 0.25 to 0.50 inch hail. In some locations the hail covered the ground and reached a depth of up to one half inch. The storms were also responsible for localized glaze accumulations of 0.25 to 0.40 inch across Henry and Bureau counties in Illinois and Des Moines county in Iowa. Due to ambient temperatures at or below freezing, the hail froze into a thick layer of ice and caused power outages in southeast Iowa.Snow accumulations varied greatly across the area from the storm. The heaviest accumulations were along the highway 20 corridor west of Dubuque where 4-6 inches of snow fell. South and east of Dubuque, snowfall amounts ranged from a trace to 4 inches. Areas south of Interstate 80 generally saw an inch or less of snowfall.

Another MCS developed along old outflow boundaries from convection earlier in the day. A high moisture atmosphere allowed storms to produce very heavy rain in short time periods. Across Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois a small bow echo developed that produced concentrated areas of damage. In Henderson County numerous trees were downed across U.S. 34 along with a semi overturned that closed the highway for about an hour while in Burlington, numerous trees and power lines were downed. While moving through Burlington, the Burlington ASOS at the airport south of town measured a gust of 42 knots (48 mph).

A narrow but intense line of snow showers, accompanied by some lightning, swept across much of Northwest and West Central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening producing high winds and heavy snow. The high winds in combination with the heavy snow resulted in near blizzard conditions for a period of about 15 minutes. The strongest winds and worst conditions were generally observed north of Highway 34, where sustained wind speeds of 35 to 45 mph were common with occasional gusts to around 60 mph. The highest measured gust was 74 mph at Pearl City in Stephenson County. There were several reports of trees and power lines knocked down. The squall line generally deposited a quick one half to one inch of snow, but just as quick as the line moved in, it moved out in 15 minutes, leaving behind a bright blue sky.

Less than one week removed from record warmth, a late January winter storm brought the region it's first dose of significant winter precipitation. The storm system developed over Southern California and then lifted east northeast through the Mid Mississippi Valley Wednesday into early Thursday producing heavy snow and icy conditions. The precipitation initially fell in the form of sleet and freezing rain over portions of West Central Illinois, with significant ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch reported. This resulted in scattered power outages and tree damage. Eventually the ice changed to snow with accumulations ranging from 2 to 5 inches near Macomb, to 7 to 11 inches further north. The heavy snow and ice caused many schools to close. Many activities were either cancelled or postponed.

Event Summary for 8/02/01: (For additional details, see individual entries for the date.)A surface boundary was in place, extending from southern Wisconsin into southwest Iowa. A moist and very unstable atmosphere interacted with the boundary to produce a line of powerful thunderstorms that raced across eastern Iowa and western Illinois during the afternoon and early evening hours. The primary threat was severe straight-line winds. There was one isolated report of nickel-sized hail in Henry County. Numerous funnel clouds developed along the leading edge of the line, but there were no touchdowns reported.

Event Summary for 6/12/01:Scattered strong thunderstorms developed during the morning over Northwest Illinois, as a warm front lifted north into the region. The storms produced several reports of 45 to 50 mph winds and heavy rain. Once the storms began to diminish, something unusual happened, reports of strong winds began to increase. A strong pressure gradient developed in response to an intense meso-high. Strong non thunderstorm winds sustained at 40 to 50 mph, with a few gusts of 65 to 80 mph were reported. Whiteside County was hardest hit by the gradient winds, with widespread trees and power lines down. Significant damage was mainly confined to Morrison and Sterling-Rock Falls.

As the storm system pulled away from the region, very strong winds gusted to between 45 and 55 mph during the day. Scattered minor power outages were reported throughout the region.

A powerful early winter storm developed in the Rockies and tracked through southern Missouri and Illinois late on Sunday the 10th through the Monday the 11th. The snow began late Sunday night and continued through Monday night. Storm totals of 8 to 11 inches were common over much of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois, with 5 to 8 inch amounts to the south in far southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and west central Illinois. The strong low pressure center produced wind gusts up to 40 miles an hour Monday afternoon and night, which created near blizzard conditions and drifted many area roads shut. Many road crews across the area were pulled Monday afternoon and night, before returning to the job early Tuesday. An accident in Hancock county Monday claimed one life after a vehicle slid into oncoming traffic. Otherwise, there were surprisingly few accidents involving injuries reported by area law enforcement. Road crews reported very light traffic Monday. An eastern Iowa resident suffered a heart attack after shoveling snow Monday. Area hospitals also treated many people suffering from hypothermia, chest pains, and injuries from falling on the ice. Most area schools were closed both Monday and Tuesday, and many businesses closed early Monday. Temperatures dropped into the single digits Monday night into Tuesday, as wind chills dipped to 20 to 40 below zero. The dangerously cold conditions continued Tuesday as snow removal efforts continued. Law enforcement reported a number of accidents on Tuesday as traffic picked up.

Ingredients were present for a big outbreak of severe weather. A strong upper level disturbance was moving through the plains. Meanwhile, surface low pressure raced from Southwest Minnesota into Wisconsin by late afternoon, allowing a strong cold front to sweep into Central Iowa by late in the day. Ahead of the front, a strong southwest breeze and abundant sunshine pushed temperatures to record levels with readings generally in the mid and upper 90s. An old outflow boundary from earlier convection set up over Northeast Iowa and Northern Illinois. Thunderstorms redeveloped along the boundary by mid to late afternoon over Northeast Iowa and quickly became severe. The convection took on an east to west orientation, which resulted in training of cells leading to heavy rains in excess of 3 inches, and recurring reports of severe weather. Meanwhile, thunderstorms exploded late in the afternoon along the approaching cold front from near Des Moines, Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri. Strong convective instability and strengthening vertical wind shear profiles resulted in the formation of an intense squall line. The squall line raced eastward producing numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds. Several areas lost power. The storms also did considerable damage to many of the areas corn and soybean crops. Damage was widespread but variable, with as much as 10 percent of the corn crop damaged in some areas. Several factors contributed to the damage. A big factor was the direction of the rows in relation to the wind. Other factors included the variety of corn, as some were not rooted as deeply, and stalk rot which makes corn stalks brittle and unstable. Stalk rot was brought on by a wet July and relatively dry August.

The earlier round of thunderstorms had weakened and shifted east of the area. Other strong to severe thunderstorms erupted during the afternoon over Southeast Iowa, Northeast Missouri and West Central Illinois as a Mesoscale Convectively induced Vorticity Maxima, from earlier thunderstorms in the plains, tracked eastward. Heavy rain, falling on already saturated ground, resulted in urban and small stream flooding in a few areas. Severe winds toppled power poles, lines and several trees over portions of Whiteside County. Trees were also toppled in Rock Island and Mercer Counties.

A frontal boundary meandering about Southern Iowa and Central Illinois lifted into Central Iowa and North Central Illinois by afternoon. A nearly stacked low center over the Mid Missouri River Valley underwent filling as it shifted eastward across Southern Iowa and Central Illinois. Much of Northern Illinois along and north of Interstate 88 was thrusted into the warm sector where temperatures climbed into the upper 70s to lower 80s. Meanwhile, areas north of the boundary were quite cool with a brisk northeast surface wind and plenty of cloud cover keeping temperatures down in the 60s. 12z soundings from KILX and KDVN indicated very steep lapse rates with Cape values of 2000-3000 J-kg. Thunderstorms quickly erupted along the boundary from Central Iowa through Northeast Iowa into Northern Illinois by late morning, and continued through the afternoon. The storms produced large hail, heavy rain, damaging winds and several tornadoes over portions of Northwest Illinois. Thunderstorm interaction with the frontal boundary was believed to be the culprit for spawning 6 weak and short lived tornadoes across Henry and Bureau Counties. The only damage occurring with the tornadoes was in Manlius and Neponset where large trees and signs were blown down. High winds, associated with a possible gustnado, blew down the back wall and knocked out several windows of an abandoned grocery store in Cambridge. The glass and bricks were hurled to the ground, causing damage to a truck parked on one side of the building. The high winds also downed several trees and power lines. Power was knocked out to Cambridge and surrounding areas for almost 4 hours.

A major winter storm exiting the Southern Rockies moved through the Mississippi Valley and into the Great Lakes. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico became entrained into the storm system resulting in a variety of weather, ranging from heavy snow to freezing rain and rain. The precipitation initially was expected to begin thursday afternoon. However, the presence of dry air from a large canadian high pressure system, parked over the region for days prior, slowed the precipitation process and delayed the onset until thursday evening. Once the precipitation finally began, it remained very light and intermittent and did not increase in coverage or intensity until friday morning. The depth of the cold air was sufficient to result in widespread heavy snow along and north of Highway 34, where amounts ranged from 5 to 10 inches. The axis of heavier snow extended from the Quad Cities into portions of Northwest Illinois. Snowfall amounts were much less over extreme Southeast Iowa, West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri, where amounts ranged from a trace to as much as 2 inches. Much of the precipitation in these areas fell in the form of rain, freezing rain and sleet, which cut down on the snowfall amounts. Ice accumulations over Southeast Iowa, West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri were not significant, but did create slick and hazardous roads, and forced the cancellation of many schools on friday. Isolated power outages were also reported. Further north, the heavy snow was accompanied at times by thunder and lightning enhancing snowfall amounts. Heavy snow forced the cancellation of many schools, businesses and shopping malls. Flights were also cancelled at The Eastern Iowa Airport and Quad City International Airport. Numerous minor vehicle accidents or fender-benders were reported with very few injuries.