Forecasters say as many as five tornadoes shot out of the dark clouds over southern Iowa last night. At least one of the twisters did some destruction on farm properties in rural Cass County, where Mike Kennon is the emergency management director.
He says grain bins were damaged as well as hoop buildings and quonset huts were torn apart. Kennon says he was out in the middle of the storm, surveying the damage toward Adair County, as the hail switched from marble-sized to hailstones the size of ping pong balls.
“It got to be pretty hairy, lots of hail, lots of rotation in the clouds,” he says. “It was kind of a scary situation there for a little bit.” Kennon says a team from the National Weather Service will be in the area this morning to assess the damage and compile a report. Spotters in the Creston area reported at least six tornadoes, including a large funnel over Creston itself. Damage was reported in the Cromwell area.
Another funnel cloud was spotted near Anita. In Madison County, a roof was blown off a house near De Soto and an outbuilding was damaged near Winterset. By 7:30 P.M., the National Weather Service had issued more than two-dozen tornado warnings in Iowa. No injuries are reported.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic