Tornado Liveblogging

Severe thunderstorm directly overhead, tornado on the ground 10 miles west of here, moving south. Venezuelan neighbor just went down to basement laundry room. Of course I've been standing in the entryway, listening to the fantastic thunder effects we're getting.

UPDATE (16:51) -- National Weather Service says the tornado is about to get to the town where we used to have a storage unit, about 10 miles south of here. The storm is no longer directly overhead. There's a delay between lightning and thunder (earlier the thunder was instantaneous, very loud, and had a whiplike echo). Also, the sickly green storm color has gone away (fellow midwesterners will know what I mean). Spotters are reporting golf ball-sized hail at the nearby mall.

UPDATE (17:02) -- Storm has definitely passed over my neighborhood. Significant lightning/thunder delay now, and thunder is much more muffled. Tornado warning ended at 17:00, tornado watch continues until 23:00. We're also under a flash flood warning until 22:45, which should be taken seriously; when I was driving home the streets were under so much water that cars were starting to have some trouble getting through.

UPDATE (17:09) -- No reports of injuries or damage. As far as I can tell from the NWS, there is no longer a tornado signal per radar. Still stormy, but now just an ordinary summer thunderstorm.

UPDATE (17:24) -- Des Moines Register News Service confirms "at least two tornadoes that touch[ed] down briefly and harmlessly" in rural areas of this county and a neighboring county.