Report: Tornado Touches Down In Waterloo, Clean-up Underway

Get our free mobile app

Clean-up is underway in Waterloo, Waverly and other parts of northeast Iowa following a night of severe weather, which spawned at least 12 confirmed tornadoes.

Officials with the National Weather Service said they were sending out survey teams to the hardest hit areas on Thursday. One crew was being sent to Bremer and Butler counties, and another was going to Calhoun and Hamilton counties in western Iowa.

Some of the most significant damage was reported near Shell Rock, Waverly, Oelwein and Manchester. Tornadoes were sighted near each of those cities. The twisters either destroyed or damaged property, uprooted trees and downed power lines. No injuries were reported.

National Weather Service officials said late Wednesday a trained spotter reported that a tornado briefly touched down near the John Deere Foundry on Westfield Ave. in Waterloo. The apparent twister caused some minor damage on both sides of U.S. Highway 218.

On Thursday, officials in Waterloo were offering residents guidance for storm damage clean-up in neighborhoods affected by the severe storm. Officials said crews from the city's Forestry and Public Works Department were working to clear streets in an area generally north of University Avenue and east of Greenhill Road, including the Cedar River Park, former Edison School and Gates Park neighborhoods.

Waterloo residents were being asked to take debris from damaged private trees to the city's Compost/Yard Waste Site at 2749 Independence Ave. The facility is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM.

Wednesday night's storm knocked down trees and utility lines around the Cedar Valley, leaving more than 2,700 Mid-American Energy customers without power in Waterloo and Evansdale. Company officials reported at least 1,600 outages in Waterloo and just over 1,100 in Evansdale.

Statewide, more than 30 tornado warnings were issued Wednesday afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service damage survey teams were expected to release preliminary results and conclusions of their findings Thursday afternoon.

Source: National Weather Service

Storm Damage

Severe storms that rolled across northeast Iowa spawned multiple tornadoes Wednesday night. There were several reports of downed trees and power lines in Waterloo and Cedar Falls. Here's a look at some of the damage in the Cedar Valley.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Filed Under: Black Hawk County, Cedar Falls, nl, Waterloo, Weather

Categories: Cedar Valley News