Current:Home > MarketsAt least 7 are dead after a large tornado hit central Iowa -AdvancementTrade
At least 7 are dead after a large tornado hit central Iowa
View
Date:2025-04-17 00:57:04
WINTERSET, Iowa — Seven people were killed, including two children, when several tornadoes swept through central Iowa, destroying homes and knocking down trees and power lines in the state's deadliest storm in more than a decade, authorities said.
Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured and six people were killed Saturday when one tornado touched down in the area southwest of Des Moines near the town of Winterset around 4:30 p.m. Among those killed were two children under the age of five and four adults.
In Lucas County, about 54 miles (87 kilometers) southeast of Des Moines, officials confirmed one death and multiple reported injuries when a separate tornado struck less than an hour later.
The state Department of Natural Resources said that person who died was in an RV at a campground at Red Haw State Park in Chariton, Iowa.
About 10,000 people were affected by power outages
Thunderstorms that spawned tornadoes moved through much of Iowa from the afternoon until Saturday night with storms also causing damage in the Des Moines suburb of Norwalk, areas just east of Des Moines and other areas of eastern Iowa. The storms were fueled by warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials reported a number of homes were damaged, roads were blocked by downed lines and tree branches were shredded by the strong winds. At one point, power outages affected about 10,000 in the Des Moines area.
The storms are the deadliest to occur in Iowa since May 2008 when one tornado destroyed nearly 300 homes and killed nine people in the northern Iowa city of Parkersburg. Another tornado a month later killed four boys at the Little Sioux Boy Scout ranch in western Iowa.
The National Weather Service in Des Moines tweeted early Sunday that there were at least three thunderstorms producing tornadoes, but it's "unknown at this time how many tornadoes occurred."
Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini said there have been plenty of examples of deadly storms in March even though they are more common in April and May. Saturday's storms were not nearly as unusual as the mid-December tornado outbreak that Iowa saw last year, he said.
"The storms that produce these tornadoes — these supercell storms — they don't care what the calendar says," Gensini said. "It doesn't have to say June. It doesn't have to say May. They form whenever the ingredients are present. And they were certainly present yesterday."
Scientists have said that extreme weather events and warmer temperatures are more likely to occur with human-caused climate change. However, scientifically attributing a storm system to global warming requires specific analysis and computer simulations that take time, haven't been done and sometimes show no clear connection.
The state is deploying resources to help
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Madison County, which allows state resources to be used to assist with response and recovery efforts. Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said 25 to 30 homes were badly damaged.
"This is the worst anyone has seen in a very long time," Ayala said.
Homeowners and volunteers were picking up wood debris and beginning to clear it away Sunday in the rolling hills south of Winterset as chainsaws whirred away in the background.
Amid the remnants of destroyed houses blown off their foundations, a white car sat on its roof and debris hung from the trees. The foundation was all that was left of several homes. The tornado carved a narrow path of destruction along a ridge while several hundred feet away other homes sit undamaged.
Gensini said Saturday's storms likely caused more than $1 billion in damages over their entire track when the severe damage in Iowa is combined with wind damage as far away as Illinois.
The National Weather Service in Des Moines tweeted Saturday that initial photos and videos from the damage around the community of Winterset suggested it was at least an EF-3 tornado, capable of causing severe damage, on the Enhanced Fujita scale. It said weather service teams would investigate the damage Sunday and further assess a potential rating.
EF-3 storms typically have winds in excess of 130 mph.
The storm that generated Saturday's tornadoes hung together for roughly 100 miles from the Nebraska border into central Iowa but it won't be clear until after the damage assessments are completed how long the individual tornadoes were on the ground.
veryGood! (8515)
Related
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Mystery drones are swarming New Jersey skies, but can you shoot them down?
- China's ruling Communist Party expels former chief of sports body
- Drew Barrymore Addresses Criticism Over Her Touchiness With Talk Show Guests
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- When does 'No Good Deed' come out? How to watch Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow's new dark comedy
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Morgan Wallen sentenced after pleading guilty in Nashville chair
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- This house from 'Home Alone' is for sale. No, not that one.
- Hate crime charges dropped against 12 college students arrested in Maryland assault
- Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Stop & Shop is using grocery store kiosks to make digital
- Video shows drone spotted in New Jersey sky as FBI says it is investigating
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
Recommendation
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
Taxpayers could get $500 'inflation refund' checks under New York proposal: What to know
One Tech Tip: How to protect your communications through encryption
The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
I loved to hate pop music, until Chappell Roan dragged me back
Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
Oregon lawmakers to hold special session on emergency wildfire funding