Storm Damage Clean-up Continues Across Northeast Iowa

Damage clean-up continues across Northeast Iowa after severe storms produced at least three tornadoes that touched down in the region Monday night (June 16, 2014).

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirms that two tornadoes struck rural Butler County near Clarksville and a third hit rural Buchanan and Delaware counties. NWS officials rated each of the twisters an EF1, with winds of 90 to 110 miles-per-hour.

While Monday's storms left scattered damage throughout Northeast Iowa, areas in and around Clarksville were among the hardest hit. The storm uprooted large trees, brought down power lines and destroyed rural farm buildings. The debris in Clarksville blocked a number of city streets.

NWS officials surveyed the damage throughout Northeast Iowa on Tuesday and determined that one storm cell produced the two tornadoes near Clarksville – one touching down west of town; the other east of town. The east-side tornado traveled about three miles and destoyed at least one home in its path.

Another twister left a destructive path in two other Northeast Iowa counties. The NWS says a tornado touched down south of Lamont in Buchanan County and remained on the ground for 17 miles, traveling east to an area south of Edgewood in Delaware County. The tornado destroyed or severely damaged grain bins and hog confinements near Lamont. Near Edgewood, officials received reports of outbuildings being destroyed on several properties.

No injuries were reported from Monday night's tornadoes. NWS officials say they are still surveying the damage.

The storms dumped heavy rain, which caused street flooding in Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

Utility crews also spent the day on Tuesday restoring electricity to thousands of people who lost power Monday night. Mid-American Energy says the storms knocked out power to nearly 27,000 customers, including more than 1,100 in Waterloo. Alliant Energy reported around 12,000 outages.

The storms were part of a large system that walloped parts of other Midwest states, including Nebraska.