North Iowa Faces Severe Storm Threat Tonight

MASON CITY — Severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds up to 75 mph could strike North Iowa late Tuesday into early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Des Moines, as a dangerous heat wave with heat indices up to 105 degrees continues through Thursday.

The weather service placed North Iowa, including Mason City, under a slight risk — a level 2 out of 5 — for severe weather Tuesday night, with the greatest threat window running from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Damaging wind will be the primary threat, forecasters said, though hail up to 2 inches in diameter and a brief tornado cannot be ruled out. The weather service rated tornado potential as “possible,” one step above “unlikely” on its three-tier scale.

“Thunderstorms developing over northwest Iowa will track north and east across northern Iowa tonight into early Wednesday,” the weather service said in its forecast update.