Severe thunderstorms are spreading across Iowa this afternoon. Karl Barlow is with the National Weather Service’s suburban Des Moines office. Barlow says the storms started on the southern edge of the state and rapidly moved north.Barlow says the storms are moving at 35 to 40 miles an hour, generating heavy winds.He says there’ve been several reports of downed power lines, trees and a few reports of funnel clouds. Barlow says the rainfall has been mixed, with some areas getting over an inch and others areas hardly any. He says the storm is moving so fast that it often doesn’t leave much rain.Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines suffered some damage from this afternoon’s high winds. A 40-foot section of roof was blown off one building, a maintenance building was also damaged and some trees were blown over. Spokesperson Angie Fagervik-Chia says the damage didn’t impact patients.
Iowa's Radio News Network
