Wild Warmth Yields Wild Weather

We knew all this record warmth was going to lead to some severe weather eventually, and April 14th marked the beginning of Iowa's 2012 tornado season.

At least four tornadoes struck Iowa on Saturday including the Thurman EF2 and Creston EF2 and which had winds approaching 130mph. Here's a link to the NWS storm damage survey. This was part of a larger storm system that produced at least 75 confirmed tornadoes in the Great Plains!

Fortunately there were no deaths from these tornadoes and our early spring heat isn't all bad. In fact, the early warmth has boosted fishing license sales in Iowa, helping ease the pains of a shrinking DNR budget. Here's the story from http://www.myabc5.com/ :

Warm Weather Lures Iowa Anglers

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Fishing license sales in Iowa have reached an all-time high for the past decade as anglers take advantage of the warm weather to hit prime fishing spots.

Sales by the Department of Natural Resources in the first quarter topped over 100,000, surging past early season sales by 16% or more. Some anglers have been out since February. The boom has boosted revenue for the department's Fish and Wildlife Fund.

Fisheries chief Joe Larscheid says the trust fund has been shrinking in recent year and higher expenses have Iowa due for a fishing license increase - something that hasn't happened since 2004. He says this year's sales will ease some of the pressure until the Legislature can act.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.