National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Hit Cedar Rapids Wednesday Night
When I checked radar last night, I was a little surprised to find out there were no weather warnings in effect from the National Weather Service (NWS) in the Quad Cities. Perhaps there should've been. The NWS has now confirmed a tornado hit Cedar Rapids Wednesday evening.
The tornado was a small one, the lowest on the scale, an EF-0, with maximum winds of approximately 85 miles per hour. Our weather partner, Iowa's News Now CBS 2, reports that a girl was cut by glass during the storm. She suffered minor injuries.
According to Iowa's News Now, the tornado damage was reported in the 400 block of Troy Street S.W., in the Summit View Village mobile home park. It's located on the south side of Wilson Avenue, between West Post Road and Wiley Blvd. The damage happened at approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night as storms impacted the Cedar Rapids area.
Iowa's News Now meteorologist Nick Stewart, in a pair of tweets (below), reminds us that last night was the first time Cedar Rapids has been impacted by a tornado since 2018. Interestingly enough, that one also came without the heads-up of a warning. Stewart explains below why that may have happened each time.
Is the National Weather Service considering more severe weather watches when these types of storm systems roll through? Who knows. It's a tough balancing act, though. If too many watches were to be issued, people would be much less likely to take them seriously. Perhaps the second largest city in Iowa should get a National Weather Service office, and radar, much closer. That would likely help immensely and make us all feel safer.