Winds approaching 100-miles an hour smacked parts of north-central Iowa overnight and it could be well into Tuesday before the power is restored to all homes and businesses in the region. Tina Potthoff, a spokeswoman for MidAmerican Energy, says at the peak of the storm, 21,000 Iowa customers lost power, though most are back online now.
Potthoff says about a thousand Webster County residents still have no electricity and the crews are working to get it restored as safely and as quickly as possible. She says the severe weather did a lot of damage to trees, snapping off limbs, and in some cases, knocking down utility poles or ripping electric lines from the poles.
Crews have been brought in from Waterloo but it may be 24 to 36 hours before all the power is restored. Damage is particularly bad in the Duncombe area, east of Fort Dodge. Potthoff says people who are MidAmerican customers should report power outages and downed power lines to 800-799-4443.
Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City