A string of tornado warnings throughout the Raccoon Valley Radio listening area activated Severe Weather Action Team coverage Thursday afternoon.

The warnings began at 5:12 p.m., when a radar-indicated tornado was detected near Guthrie Center. The warning included all of Guthrie County and northwestern Adair. Shortly after that, another tornado warning was issued for southeastern Dallas County, southwestern Polk, and northern Madison, after radar showed tornadic activity over West Des Moines. The second warning was then extended to include parts of northeastern Dallas County. The original warning in Guthrie County was allowed to expire at 5:45, but the same storm system regained momentum and a tornado warning was issued for eastern Guthrie and northwestern Dallas. All of the warnings in the listening area were allowed to expire at 6:15.

Several trained weather spotters reported funnel clouds in an assortment of locations, but luckily none of them were reported to touch the ground. There was also no damage reported anywhere, though there was extensive rain in most areas. Eight members of the Raccoon Valley Radio Severe Weather Action team, as well as Weather Eye meteorologists, and Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard contributed to the live coverage of the storm. Whenever severe weather affects our listening area, count on Raccoon Valley Radio’s Severe Weather Action Team to keep you informed and safe.