A trip to the Four Seasons

 For some people, one of the joys of living in the Midwest is getting to experience all four seasons of weather: spring, summer, fall and winter. 

However, it’s unusual when all four seasons occur within 36 hours. 

That’s exactly what happened in Montgomery County Saturday and Sunday, as Mother Nature gave us wind, rain, heat and even some snow that remained on the ground Monday. 

After a week full of warmer temperatures and dry conditions, Montgomery County had been under a burn ban. Saturday morning’s high winds with gusts up to 35 miles per hour reinforced the need for that ban.  After a morning of temperatures in the 60s, Saturday afternoon felt like a summer day with a high of 85 under sunny skies. 

That summer motif remained as clouds quickly moved in after 6 p.m. and a thunderstorm warning was issued for southwest Montgomery County. 

When the storm arrived, it brought some large, damaging hail measuring several inches in diameter. 

“I think most of the major damage was on the northeast side of town,” Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman said. “There were a bunch of cars damaged and probably some roofs as well.”

In addition to dimpled car hoods and roofs, several Red Oak residents reported broken windshields and windows. 

Hail created a leak in the roof at the Southwest Iowa Liquor store on Oak Street and also damaged a sign on the business, owner Jenny Ellis said. 

An absence of high winds minimized the damage. 

“There was wind but it wasn’t bad,” Hamman said. “The trees not having leaves had a lot to do with minimizing the damage as well.”

After the thunderstorm rolled out, cold temperatures and a steady, slow falling rain set in for most of Sunday. Between the two days, just a little less than two of inches precipitation fell on Red Oak. 

Completing the weather cycle, the spring-like rain showers turned into snow showers Sunday night as the temperature dropped to 32 degrees.

While the pavement was too warm for the snow to accumulate on the roads, it did cover yards and vehicles. 

After a return to seasonal temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday with no chance of precipitation, the forecast calls for more strange weather later in the week with a chance for a rain/ice mix Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will return to lows near freezing and highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.