Damage assessment is underway in communities across much of Iowa after Wednesday’s severe weather. There are multiple reports of tornadoes, mostly in southwest and central Iowa, as well as wind damage reports from Council Bluffs to Davenport. In Adams County, Donnie Willett is the Emergency Management Coordinator. He says they may have had a twister touch down near Corning.

“We had three buildings at our industrial site that sustained roof damage and sidewall damage from the downburst or tornado or whatever it was.” Workers were evacuated from the P-P-I or Precision Pulley and Idler factory in Corning. No injuries were reported. Willett says the powerful winds made for a rough afternoon for at least one truck driver.

“We had a semi blow over on Highway 34 at the Redwood Avenue intersection,” Willett says. “There were no injuries involved.”  The Weather Service says power poles were knocked down in Red Oak at around 1:45-p.m., Wednesday.

In Ringgold County, where winds whipped up to 80-mph, power lines were downed in a rural area south of Delphos, and a machine shed was destroyed by a possible tornado east of Delphos. A barn was also destroyed southeast of Diagonal and part of a machine shed was damaged west/northwest of Mount Ayr. The weather service says also, a barn lost its roof one mile north of Bridgewater at around 2:15-p.m.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN News)

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert said Wednesday, crews were out assessing damage from an apparent tornado crossed over from Pottawattamie into Shelby County, Wednesday afternoon. His preliminary report indicated the damage was minimal, and no injuries had been reported.

Photo provided by Shelby County EMA

Seivert said some downed power lines were observed at 400th and M-16, and on Juniper Road. Damage to an outbuilding and trees at one rural location, was additionally being investigated. As was the case in Pottawattamie County, Emergency Management personnel called for spotters to be placed into position prior to the storms moving into the area. Just before 2-p.m., the National Weather service issued a Tornado Warning for Shelby County, with reports of a funnel cloud crossing the interstate and strong rotation indicated by radar.

Spotters were placed countywide, and sirens activated for the cities, of Tennant and Harlan. At 2:08-p.m. Seivert says a wind gust at the Harlan airport was clocked at 76 mph and heavy rain was occurring. An Emergency Management spotter reported a tornado on the ground with debris at about the same time. The tornado warning was cancelled at 2:12-p.m. Seivert said “This was a very unusual event for November.”

The National Weather Service in Valley, NE., confirmed,Wednesday an EF-1 Tornado struck about two-miles south and west of Avoca Wednesday afternoon, sometime around 2-p.m. The twister, which was seen on various pictures captured by motorists and residents, had a path about four-miles long, and packed winds of up to 110-miles per hour.

The tornado dissipated about four-miles north of Avoca. It’s strength was based on preliminary information compiled during a damage assessment. Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Reed told KJAN News Wednesday evening, that the tornado was primarily in the rural areas, where it took out at least one corn crib, which was blown across a neighboring field, and a power pole.

Reed said the twister next hit an eastbound semi, blowing it across the interstate to the west side and into the ditch. The driver was not injured. It continued north across York Road, and caused the road to be blocked with downed trees and power lines. The twister then entered Shelby County, where it caused some damage to rural outbuildings and grain bins. No injuries were reported.

Reed said “Even though it’s November, we just kind of went through our regular protocol with the severe weather threat today (Wednesday), and had storm spotters and people from the fire/rescue departments already out when the [National] Weather Service told us that things were ramping-up a little bit for areas of our county. [It was] A quick response, organized response by all, and kinda worked out well, and we’re glad it was isolated to kind of rural areas, with minor damage.”