Des Moines, Iowa (Via KCCI and KCRG) — The National Weather Service in Des Moines has confirmed an EF-0 tornado that struck at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5 near the town of Bloomfield. Damage was reported to the National Weather Service and it was determined that a tornado had touched down at 11 a.m. and lasted for around one minute with an overall path length of one-third of a mile. The cell associated with the storm was said to have no lightning. Tornadoes can occur any time of the year.

According to the Weather Service, since January 1st Iowa has broken the record for the most tornadoes touching down in the state in a year, with 122 having been confirmed- and the year isn’t over yet, of course. The previous record was set in 2004. Several different events have contributed to this year’s high number of tornadoes. A Weather Service meteorologist said four of the largest tornadoes occurred April 16th and 26th, and were followed-up by an active weather pattern, in May. Storms on the 21st and 24th of May produced between 18 to 23 tornadoes each.

In addition to a strong jet stream, meteorologists also noted several additional features that helped strengthen storms this year. Dr. Bill Gallus, a professor of Meteorology at ISU told KCRG, “In the spring, the southern part of the United States got very hot, record hot and the Gulf of Mexico warmed up quickly and became warmer than average, which also helps more humidity to enter the atmosphere and then the south winds that came up ahead of these storm systems could bring that higher humidity up to Iowa and that acts as the fuel as the instability for the thunderstorms.”

2024 isn’t the only year we’ve dealt with a high number of tornadoes. In the last 20 years, five years have had more than 100 tornadoes statewide. Scientists don’t think climate change is causing an increase in the number of tornadoes we see. However, experts are considering the possibility that climate change is causing more large scale severe weather events. Officials say learning from this year’s storms will help to prepare for twisters in the years to come.

As for the upcoming Winter months, the Climate Prediction Center – which specializes in long-range, seasonal forecasts – says developing La Niña conditions are expected through the winter. What does that mean for Iowa? The influence of La Niña is most impactful in northern and southern states and along the east coast. Towards the central US, La Niña has less of a signal making it difficult to draw conclusions about what to expect this year. Recent La Niña patterns have generally favored a warmer start to the winter season for our area, followed by colder and snowier conditions over the second half of winter with a later onset of spring.