Northwest Iowa is cleaning up this morning after a volatile round of severe storms last night that delivered tornadoes, destructive winds and widespread power outages across the region.
Powerful thunderstorms swept from Sioux City through Cherokee, Ida, Palo Alto and into Calhoun County, toppling trees and damaging electrical infrastructure. MidAmerican Energy reported more than 13,000 customers without power at the peak of the event, including over 5,600 in Woodbury County and more than 1,300 in Cherokee County, with additional outages in Buena Vista, Ida, Palo Alto, Plymouth and Calhoun counties. Crews were staged ahead of the storms and worked through the night.
The most serious damage reports came from Woodbury County, where emergency management says a tornado may have touched down in the Salix and Pierson areas, damaging homes, downing trees and knocking out power. Pierson was temporarily closed to all traffic overnight as crews assessed damage. No injuries have been reported so far. Residents are being urged to avoid damaged areas and report impacts through the county’s online portal.
In Cherokee County, law enforcement warned of multiple tornadoes on the ground last night as storms intensified. Around 8:30 p.m., radar indicated rotation near Cleghorn, with a tornado warning issued for northeastern Cherokee, northwestern Buena Vista, southwestern Clay and southeastern O’Brien counties. The storm was capable of producing tornadoes and quarter‑size hail, moving northeast at 40 miles per hour.
Farther east, severe thunderstorm alerts extended into Calhoun and Pocahontas counties, where storms produced 80‑mile‑per‑hour winds and additional tree and power line damage. Locations impacted included Pomeroy, Fonda, Rockwell City and Laurens. These same storms prompted a tornado watch across much of northwest Iowa into the early morning hours.
Emergency officials in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties are asking residents to self‑report any storm damage through the state’s online reporting tool. That information will help local and state agencies assess the full scope of last night’s impacts.
The National Weather Service will survey multiple locations today to determine how many tornadoes touched down and assign preliminary ratings.
