Storms that roared through Iowa officially declared a derecho
Wednesday night’s storm system that brought widespread damage and tornadoes to Iowa is officially being declared a derecho.
The National Weather Service has confirmed 13 tornadoes hit Iowa. Six of them were considered strong, with winds of up to 120 mph.
Behind the initial line, winds gusted up to 74 mph. That's the highest non-thunderstorm wind gust ever recorded in Des Moines.
Nearly half of Iowans are eligible for state aid to help rebuild from this week's winter windstorm.
Homeowners can apply for up to $5,000 in state assistance after Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster declaration Thursday that includes 49 of Iowa's 99 counties.
DEADLY STORM
The storms hit all across the Midwest and are responsible for killing at least five people, including one Iowan.
The Iowa State Patrol said a Council Bluffs man was thrown from his truck and died when a strong gust of wind blew a tractor-trailer over onto its side near Cedar Rapids.
A man in southeastern Minnesota died after a tree fell on him and three died in crashes in Kansas where a dust storm reduced visibility to near-zero levels.
GREENE COUNTY DAMAGE
Friends, family, and complete strangers are now helping people in Greene County clean up. New drone video shows just how powerful these storms were.
The National Weather Service reports an EF2 tornado hit Greene County, just south of Jefferson.
Winds there topped out at 120 mph. One Greene County family lost everything.
The tornado tore through their home and ripped up their farm equipment, trucks and out-buildings.
WEBSTER COUNTY TORNADO
The National Weather Service says another EF2 twister tore through Webster County.
The storm destroyed trees, ripped roofs to shreds and demolished buildings. The tornado threw debris a mile away across Highway 175.
Despite the widespread damage, no one was hurt.
PELLA DAMAGE
Many people in Pella are counting their blessings following the storm. People there say they see very little damage in comparison to other storms.
vlog spoke to some renters who say they heard trees crashing on the roof just minutes after they took shelter in the basement.
The force caused their ceiling to cave in.
RUDD HIT HARD
A community outside of Mason City is coming together to shelter those without a home. The storms leveled most of the small town of Rudd in Floyd County.
An EF1 tornado hit the area Wednesday night, tearing the roof off of the public library.
Some books managed to weather the storm, perfectly in line on their shelves. The library shared on Facebook that, thanks to some awesome volunteers, they salvaged what they could from the rubble.
The town is expected to be without power and water for at least a few more days. It’s the third destructive weather event to hit the area in three years.
The United Way of North Central Iowa is asking for donations of mittens and snacks for those taking shelter at the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Schools. Students and staff began feeding and offering showers there Thursday morning.
KINGSLEY CLEANUP
Near Sioux City, piles of debris cover curbsides, insulation scattered on the roads. Families in Kingsley say they spent most of yesterday helping each other clean up.
Another family is hoping there's more generosity on the way to help with repairs.
POWER RESTORATION
Crews are working to restore power across the state. At the height of the storm, tens of thousands of customers lost electricity.
posted on Facebook that they expect to finish fixing the outages by 6 p.m. Saturday.
plans to have everything restored by the end of Friday.
In rural areas, at least 2,000 REC customers were still without power. The worst areas were in Webster and Greene counties.