Manchester, Independence Among Areas Reporting Damage from Overnight Storms

A line of destructive storms made their way across Iowa during the overnight hours.

The National Weather Service says the line progressed near Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Monday evening, quickly moving through northern and eastern Iowa.

Governor Kim Reynolds has issued disaster proclamations for Hancock, O’Brien, Osceola and Sioux Counties after strong storms packing winds clocked anywhere from 70 to 100 miles an hour. Sioux County Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan De Kruyf says it hit there around 9:15 pm.

As it moved into eastern Iowa around 1 to 3 am, it packed winds up to 70 to 80 miles per hour, with a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in portions of Linn and Jones counties warning of a 90 mph wind threat. A trained spotter reported an 83 mile per hour wind gust three miles east of Cedar Rapids. 

In Buchanan County, a 77 mph wind gust was reported one mile east/southeast of Independence. Numerous trees were reported down across the county. The Independence Fire Department says they were dispatched for at least ten calls for service related to the storms. Crews assisted with several downed trees, street flooding, trees on homes, downed power lines, blocked roadways, etc. No injuries were reported by any home owners.

The storms were still packing a punch heading into Delaware County. Emergency Management Coordinator Mandy Bieber:

Tree limbs and power lines were downed in Manchester, with power outages reported too. City Manager Tim Vick says they’re still assessing the damage.

The City of Manchester is picking up curbside storm debris, including branches and limbs, through Wednesday. Tree damage was also reported around Lake Delhi, with power outages also reported in Delhi.

If you have any storm or damage reports. Delaware County Emergency Management would like to hear from you.

More storms appear likely for the area late tonight and Wednesday morning with an isolated damaging wind threat. Torrential downpours and localized flooding are also possible. And we have one more day of heat and humidity before we start to see some relief. A cooldown will come our way as early as Wednesday, with highs struggling to reach 70. Highs in the mid- to upper-70s will stay with us through the rest of the week and into the weekend.

Manchester – corner of Brewer and Marion (courtesy of Monica Bailey)

Lake Delhi (courtesy of NWS/unnamed)

Central City (courtesy of NWS/Carrie Callan)

top photo courtesy of Independence Fire Department; partial story contribution courtesy of Radio Iowa