Severe Thunderstorm Watch Expires After Covering Eastern Iowa, Northeast Missouri
Severe thunderstorm watch covered 18 Iowa counties and 2 Missouri counties before expiring at midnight Thursday.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — A severe thunderstorm watch that covered much of eastern Iowa and portions of northeast Missouri expired at midnight Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service Quad Cities office.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 139 remained in effect until 12:00 a.m. CDT on April 24, covering 18 counties in Iowa and two counties in Missouri. The watch was issued Wednesday evening as meteorologists monitored conditions for potential severe weather development across the region.
Counties Under Watch
In Iowa, the watch included Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Muscatine counties in east central Iowa. Northeast Iowa counties under the watch were Buchanan, Delaware, and Dubuque.
Southeast Iowa saw nine counties included in the watch: Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren, and Washington counties. In Missouri, Clark and Scotland counties in the northeast portion of the state were covered by the watch.
Cities Affected
Major population centers within the watch area included Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Iowa City in Iowa. Other cities covered by the watch were Anamosa, Burlington, Fairfield, Independence, Kahoka, Keokuk, Keosauqua, Manchester, Marengo, Memphis, Mount Pleasant, Muscatine, Sigourney, Tipton, Vinton, Wapello, and Washington.
The National Weather Service issues severe thunderstorm watches when atmospheric conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms. These watches indicate that severe thunderstorms are possible in and near the watch area, prompting residents to stay alert for rapidly changing weather conditions.
A severe thunderstorm watch differs from a warning, as watches cover larger areas and longer time periods when conditions are conducive to severe weather development. Warnings are issued for smaller areas when severe weather is imminent or occurring.
