WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa — A winter storm system launched an extremely rare January tornado that touched down in eastern Iowa Monday afternoon.
The tornado, an EF1 confirmed by the National Weather Service (NWS), was spotted near the community of Williamsburg shortly after 2 p.m. The Iowa County Sheriff's Office said in a release that while damage was minor, the tornado did blow a truck and passenger vehicle off Interstate 80.
Sheriff's officials reported damage to a cattle shelter and tree damage at another farm in the same area of eastern Iowa. Power lines were also downed as the tornado moved northeast toward South Amana before receding into the sky.
The NWS said an EF1 tornado can carry wind speeds between 86 and 110 miles per hour, and is capable of moderate damage.
Information from the NWS shows that in 1967 Iowa saw 13 tornadoes in the month of January. The first month of year hadn't seen a single tornado since the agency started keeping records in 1950, and Monday's incident was the first since the '60s.
NWS investigators plan to release a more complete report on the event later Tuesday.
Watch more WeatherMinds:
Watch the latest deep-dives and explainers on weather and science in our YouTube playlist: