By Mari Radtke
A line of fierce storms blew across Iowa and over O’Brien County on Thursday December 16. A line of severe weather passed over right at rush house bringing heavy rain, lightening and high winds. The 5:00-ish event also suddenly and deeply blackened the sky. Tornado warnings were issued by National Weather Service in Sioux Falls and Des Moines. Sirens in Paullina, Primghar and Sutherland were sounded.
Reported storm damage across the county is mostly trees and some roof damage. There are no reports of home damage making a place unlivable. Several livestock and machine barns were heavily damaged or destroyed. Those reports come from the eastern edge of O’Brien County from the middle to the southeast corner where a machine shed was demolished. There is no indicator of if the wind damage was tornadic, straight winds or heavy winds, reportedly hitting gust of 80 miles per hour. No injuries from the storm are reported.
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.
The National Weather Service has confirmed tornadoes in Atlantic, Bayard, Bagley a, Harcourt/Duncombe and Lake View in Sac County, Rudd, as well as Aurelia in Cherokee County. Pottawatomie County , Grand Junction in southeast Greene County, northeast Greene County near Dana, near Stratford, Belmond and eastern Franklin County and Somers.
The National Weather Service is continuing to assess damage and determine more information on the tornadoes that occurred Wednesday evening.
The governor had issued disaster declarations for 49 of Iowa’s 99 counties for damage done by the Wednesday storm.