Severe Winds Reach 80 to 100 MPH North of Highway 20

Widespread severe winds hit eastern Iowa on Monday evening, reaching 100 miles per hour in northwest Dubuque County.

KMCH was joined by Severe Studios live on the air for severe weather coverage as the severe storms barreled their way into the listening area. 

The New Vienna/Luxemburg Fire Department reported a 102 mph wind gust, recorded about two and a half miles west of New Vienna. A wind gust of 97 mph was also reported in the Holy Cross area. New Vienna/Luxemburg Fire Chief Mark Lukan tells KMCH there were several reports of damage in the New Vienna/Luxemburg area, including numerous cattle sheds with roofs blown off and fallen trees on structures. Lukan says an overhead door was blown in at Progressive Structures in Luxemburg and an 80,000-bushel grain bin toppled at Dave’s Feed Store in Luxemburg (pictured above). No injuries have been reported.

Buchanan County was the first in the area to report destructive winds as the storms moved in from the west around 4:30 to 5 pm, with a report of 86 miles per hour in Aurora. Emergency Management Assistant Chris Hare said they were still in the process of receiving reports on Monday night, but believed that the damage throughout Buchanan County was mostly to trees. 

As of 7 pm Monday night, Emergency Management had not received any reports of major structural damage in Delaware County – even though wind speeds reached destructive levels.

Delaware County Emergency Management Coordinator Mandy Bieber joined KMCH live on the air durings severe weather coverage on Monday night, reporting tree damage.

Power lines were also down in some areas of the county.

Tornado warnings were also issued in portions of Buchanan, Delaware, Linn, Jones and Dubuque counties due to spottings of several funnel clouds and tornadoes. The National Weather Service plans to survey some of the reports across the Quad Cities’ NWS office area on Tuesday.

Flash flooding was also reported with Monday evening’s storms, with Highway 61 covered with water near Zwingle and flooded roads west of New Vienna.

You can find numerous photos of storm damage on our KMCH Facebook page. If you have damage to report, you may call Delaware County Emergency Management at 927-3723 or post a report through their Facebook page. 

Forecasters say after a couple days of intense heat and storms, we can expect cooler and quiet weather – with temperatures below average in the upper 70s – for the rest of the week. 

Rural New Vienna/Luxemburg area

New Vienna

Dyersville Golf & Country Club area

Near Backbone State Park

Tanglewood Drive in Manchester

Flag Pole Down at Manchester Public Library

photos courtesy of New Vienna/Luxemburg Fire Department, NWS and KMCH Facebook followers