National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Overview

An unseasonably strong and dynamic winter system brought severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to portions of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Wednesday, December 15. In addition to this, the region experienced widespread strong winds, which resulted in numerous trees, structures, and powerlines being damaged.

To put things into perspective on how rare this event was, it was the first time since record keeping began in 1986 that our office had to issue both a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning during the month of December, with 6 and 8 issued respectively. 

In total, this event led to 189 warnings being issued across the central U.S., with 118 of those being for severe thunderstorms and the remaining 71 being for tornadoes. 

 

ImageSPC Day 1 Outlook and Reports - December 15, 2021
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