A fast-moving line of powerful thunderstorms roared across northwest Iowa Monday night, bringing wind gusts near 100 miles per hour and widespread damage across the region. In Storm Lake and Buena Vista County, gusts peaked at 60 mph, snapping trees, damaging homes, and knocking out power to thousands.
Buena Vista County Emergency Management Coordinator Aimee Barritt described the overnight impact.
Fortunately, no major injuries or catastrophic damages have been reported in the county, said Barritt. Communities like Newell and Marathon saw minimal impact.
Additional insight came from Dana Larsen, Communications Coordinator for the City of Storm Lake, who confirmed the city was fortunate no injuries had been reported despite significant property damage.
Storm Lake city crews began cleanup yesterday (Tuesday) morning, targeting key public spaces including Sunrise Park and the campground area before shifting efforts to residential neighborhoods.
Larsen says cleanup could stretch through the end of the week.
In preparation for the storm, all tornado sirens in Buena Vista County were activated, and due to forecasted gusts over 80 mph, the National Weather Service issued a Wireless Emergency Alert.
As the community turns to recovery, residents are encouraged to self-report damage via the Buena Vista County Emergency Management Facebook page and sign up for BV Alerts for future emergency notifications, says Barritt.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center has preliminarily classified the strong storms as a derecho, defined as a long-lived line of storms with extreme winds.
