From NWS
2009: An unusual meteorological event called a heat burst struck the Cedar Rapids area during the early morning hours. Heat bursts, somewhat more common in the southern plains of Oklahoma and Texas but much rarer in Iowa, occur when thunderstorms develop in an area where there is a layer of very dry air high up in the storm, then collapse suddenly pulling down and heating the dry air until it hits the surface. This results in a rapid rise in surface temperature and usually very strong and gusty winds. The heat burst that occurred at around 5:30 am on this day caused the temperature in Cedar Rapids to rise from the lower 70s to 84 F in a matter of minutes. Wind gusts estimated at 70 mph blew down trees and signs and knocked out power to several neighborhoods. Further east at Monticello the temperature rose from 71 F to 80 F and sustained wind speeds spiked up to nearly 30 mph.

1885: Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and strong winds at scattered locations across Iowa. Near Davenport an observer wrote that “the hail stones were as big as hens eggs; many were flat, thick pieces of ice.” In Tama County another observer said that “an enormous quantity of hail fell, averaging large in size” and that at Gladstone seven freight cars were blown off the track into a ditch.

3 August 1864 → The crew of a Union fleet witnessed a waterspout move right past their ship, causing no damage, in Albemarle Sound, NC. 3 August 1960 → A severe squall line with hurricane force winds crossed Chicago, and then proceeded across Lake Michigan. Two hours later a seiche caused the lake to rise as much as four feet along the Chicago shore. One man died clinging to a rope on the lake side of a filtration plant near Navy Pier. 3 August 1970 → Hurricane Celia crossed the Texas coastline midway between Corpus Christi and Aransas Pass. Celia moved west-northwest across southern Texas with the storm center passing near Mathis, Eagle Pass, and Del Rio. Sustained winds at 130 mph and peak gusts to 180 mph were reported at both George West and Tilden. Property damaged reached about $1 million. 3 August 2011 → Little Rock, AR set their all-time high temperature record of 114 degrees.

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