Storm rips through the area Monday

By Kalen McCain and Paul D. Bowker
Posted 8/11/20

Winds exceeding 100 miles per hour tore through Iowa early Monday afternoon, in a so-called derecho, a severe weather phenomenon involving hurricane-strength winds moving in a straight line.

The …

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Storm rips through the area Monday

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Winds exceeding 100 miles per hour tore through Iowa early Monday afternoon, in a so-called derecho, a severe weather phenomenon involving hurricane-strength winds moving in a straight line.

The storm knocked down trees and cut power to many residents across the state, with 210,000 Alliant Energy Customers still without power across Iowa as of Tuesday morning.

When Monday’s storm hit Wellman between 12:30 and 1 p.m., wind damage tore into trees all over town, including in front of the Community Park and Mid-Prairie High School.

Fallen trees cut off two roads leading to the business district and rendered a residential street south of Highway 22 completely impassable.

Firefighters from the Wellman Fire Department helped with storm recovery at several locations.

With the power out, the Mid-Prairie school board held its 7 p.m. meeting in the parking lot in the waning natural light.

Wellman City Council Member Shannon McCain said only the southwest side of town had power as of 10:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Kalona lost power shortly after Wellman, as the storm swept through town.

Initial predictions called for power to come back by 3 p.m. Monday, but most of town went without lights until 9:15 the next morning, after The News staff relocated to the Kalona Community Center, which had its own generator.

While most of the town suffered minimal property damage, Kalona Post and Frame reported damage to a warehouse after the storm, and a fallen power line on Orange Avenue drew immediate attention from repair crews.

Riverside fared better, with power outage issues either nonexistent or resolved in time for the Highland to hold its scheduled board meeting at the high school at 5 p.m. Monday.

Several trees and large branches fell across town, with several near-miss incidents but little building or vehicle damages reported as a result.

The windstorm did manage to tip over an Apex Construction trailer on the north side of town at the intersection of Galileo Drive and Ash Street. The trailer blew several feet from its unattached stairway, its contents scattered within and the outer frame crushed in the roll.

Phone lines may have also been compromised in town, as the Riverside City Hall phone did not ring when called by The News staff on Tuesday morning.

When the strong winds hit Lone Tree, they turned the yard of Tina Trueblood Fischer’s home into a virtual forest.

Branches from large maple trees snapped off, many of them falling to the ground to cover the yard and other branches dangling in the air and touching power lines.

By late afternoon, several neighbors stopped by the house to help, armed with chainsaws.

“The neighbors just showed up,” Trueblood Fischer said over the cacophony of chainsaws. “It’s awesome. It’s that kind of a town.”

Among the neighbors offering a hand and a chainsaw were David Schnoebelen and Tony Bauwens, who said they offered to help when they noticed that Trueblood Fischer’s house, just two blocks East of Lone Tree High School, had taken a significant hit.