Active Weather Alerts
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Issued: 1:43 AM May. 18, 2026 – National Weather Service
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR CHEROKEE...SOUTHEASTERN OSCEOLA...DICKINSON...BUENA VISTA...CLAY AND O'BRIEN COUNTIES... At 840 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Hartley to near Sioux Rapids to near Truesdale, moving northeast at 65 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Mesonet. At 829 PM CDT, a 62 mph wind gust was reported north of Cleghorn. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. Locations impacted include... Spencer In Clay County, Albert City, Everly, Royal, Marathon, Webb, Greenville, Fostoria, Milford, Arnolds Park, West Okoboji, Lost Island Lake, Okoboji and Terril. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT for northwestern and west central Iowa. This is a DANGEROUS SITUATION. These storms are producing widespread wind damage across Cherokee and northern Buena Vista counties. SEEK SHELTER NOW inside a sturdy structure and stay away from windows. && TORNADO...POSSIBLE; THUNDERSTORM DAMAGE THREAT...CONSIDERABLE; HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED; MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN; WIND THREAT...OBSERVED; MAX WIND GUST...70 MPH
Tornado Watch
Issued: 1:19 AM May. 18, 2026 – National Weather Service
TORNADO WATCH 213 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN IOWA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 10 COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST IOWA BUENA VISTA CHEROKEE CLAY DICKINSON O'BRIEN OSCEOLA PLYMOUTH SIOUX IN WEST CENTRAL IOWA IDA WOODBURY IN MINNESOTA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 2 COUNTIES IN SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA COTTONWOOD JACKSON THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ARNOLDS PARK, BATTLE CREEK, CHEROKEE, HARTLEY, HAWARDEN, HOLSTEIN, HULL, IDA GROVE, JACKSON, LAKEFIELD, LE MARS, MILFORD, MOUNTAIN LAKE, ORANGE CITY, ROCK VALLEY, SANBORN, SHELDON, SIBLEY, SIOUX CENTER, SIOUX CITY, SPENCER, SPIRIT LAKE, STORM LAKE, AND WINDOM.
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