Blog Article
July 20, 2026 Tornado Outbreak Recap: Iowa to Wisconsin
Full recap of the July 20, 2026 severe weather: 8 tornado reports from Iowa to Wisconsin, an 87 mph gust, baseball hail, and Bertha's Gulf strengthening.
8 Tornadoes in 24 Hours: How the July 20, 2026 Iowa-to-Wisconsin Outbreak Unfolded
Alright y'all, July 20 turned into one of those days where the atmosphere just kept adding chapters. What started as a Northern Plains wind and hail threat grew into a full-blown tornado outbreak stretching from central Iowa into the Wisconsin Northwoods and even a waterspout making landfall on Lake Superior. By the time the sun came up on the 21st, we were counting eight separate tornado reports. That's why we're doing a full recap today instead of just moving on.
How the Day Unfolded
The setup started in the Northern Plains, where a supercell near Herreid, South Dakota produced a measured 87 mph wind gust, the kind of number that gets a met's attention before lunch is even over. As that system pushed east through the afternoon, the environment over Iowa got primed for something bigger. Baseball-size hail, 2.75 inches in diameter, fell near Story City, Iowa, and an 80 mph gust was measured near Sheffield. Those are not small numbers. That's severe weather doing real damage to roofs, siding, and crops.
Then, right around 4:30 to 5:00 PM Central, the tornadoes started. Law enforcement reported a tornado on the ground 1 mile southeast of Webster City, Iowa around 4:34 PM, with multiple funnel cloud reports feeding into that call. Just twenty minutes later, another tornado was confirmed on the ground 4 miles south of Kamrar, Iowa, a few miles from Webster City. Central Iowa had itself a rough stretch there.
The same broader system kept firing storms as it tracked northeast into Wisconsin through the evening. Between about 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM Central, four more tornadoes were reported: one 4 miles northwest of Stratford, one 4 miles west-southwest of Black River Falls (called in by an emergency manager off radar and traffic camera video), one 3 miles east-northeast of Mattoon, and one 4 miles west of Tigerton, the last of which was caught on storm chaser video. Add to that a waterspout that made landfall at Shot Point, Michigan, along Lake Superior's shoreline, and a tornado vortex reported near Elderon, Wisconsin, and you get to eight tornado reports across three states in one calendar day.
While all that was going on up north, Arizona was dealing with its own mess. Flash flooding triggered swift water rescues in Yavapai County as monsoon moisture cranked up over the Southwest. And out in the Gulf, Tropical Depression Two officially strengthened into Tropical Storm Bertha, setting the stage for the coastal story that's still unfolding as I write this.
What We Can Confirm
- Eight tornado reports across Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan between roughly 4:30 PM and 8:30 PM Central on July 20
- Confirmed tornadoes on the ground near Webster City and Kamrar, Iowa
- Tornado reports near Stratford, Black River Falls, Mattoon, Tigerton, and Elderon, Wisconsin
- A waterspout making landfall at Shot Point, Michigan on Lake Superior
- An 87 mph wind gust near Herreid, South Dakota
- An 80 mph wind gust near Sheffield, Iowa
- 2.75 inch baseball-size hail near Story City, Iowa
- Flash flooding and swift water rescues in Yavapai County, Arizona
- Tropical Depression Two upgraded to Tropical Storm Bertha in the Gulf
We don't have damage survey results yet for any of these tornadoes. NWS survey teams need time to get out and assess path length, width, and intensity, so we're not going to guess at EF ratings here. What we have right now are on the ground reports from law enforcement, emergency managers, storm chasers, and the public, which is exactly how a fast-evolving outbreak like this gets tracked in real time.
Forecast Versus Reality
This one lines up well. Our outlook language going into July 20 flagged Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin as the most active zone, and that's exactly where the tornado reports clustered. The Kamrar, Iowa tornado and the Herreid, South Dakota wind gust were both specifically called out ahead of time, and both verified. The system did what the ingredients suggested it would do: strong shear and instability over the Upper Midwest turned discrete storms into tornado producers through the evening hours.
If there's a miss to own, it's scope. The outbreak stretched further into Wisconsin and up into Michigan's Upper Peninsula than a lot of morning guidance emphasized. That waterspout making landfall at Shot Point is a good reminder that Great Lakes shorelines can produce their own tornado risk once storms track over open water, even this far north in July.
What's Next
The pattern didn't slow down overnight. As of this morning, SPC has an Enhanced Risk posted for today, July 21, running from the upper Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic, covering Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Newark. The primary threat there is damaging wind, with SPC's own numbers showing a 45 percent chance of widespread gusts over 60 mph in that Enhanced zone. A broader Slight Risk wraps around it, adding New York City, Columbus, Nashville, and Raleigh to the outlook.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Bertha is still out there in the Gulf with 52 mph sustained winds, tracking toward the Louisiana coast. That's a separate story we're watching closely, and it deserves its own full writeup rather than a quick mention here.
Bottom Line
July 20 was a legitimate multi-state tornado day, eight reports across Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, backed up by an 87 mph wind gust and baseball-size hail in Iowa. The forecast called this zone correctly, and warning lead times through Iowa and Wisconsin appear to have given communities a heads up before storms arrived. What we're watching for next is the damage survey data over the coming days, which will tell us the actual strength and path of these tornadoes. Until then, we're sticking to what's confirmed: reports on the ground, not ratings we haven't earned yet. And with an Enhanced Risk over the Mid-Atlantic and Bertha closing in on the Gulf Coast today, the active pattern isn't done with us.