Residents of Iowa woke up on Wednesday morning to devastating scenes of destruction after deadly storms swept across the state the night before. One town in particular, Greenfield, about 50 miles southwest of Des Moines, was hit hard by a tornado that left multiple people dead and at least a dozen injured. Search and rescue operations were underway as the community braced for a final death toll.
Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa issued an emergency disaster proclamation in 15 counties in the wake of the storms. In Adams County, one woman died from storm-related causes, highlighting the severity of the weather event. Poweroutage.us reported that at least 110,000 customers were without power in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana as a result of the storm.
The National Weather Service issued warnings of continued unsettled and changeable weather in the coming days from the West Coast to the Great Plains. A large swath of the United States was at risk of severe weather, with storms containing large hail, damaging winds, and potential tornadoes expected across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
The city of Greenfield, with a population of about 2,000 people, was left devastated by the tornado. Video footage showed destroyed homes, mangled cars, and roads covered with debris in the aftermath of the storm. The local hospital sustained tornado damage, prompting the transfer of patients to nearby hospitals. A curfew was announced in the city as authorities assessed the damage and death toll, with the Iowa State Patrol emphasizing the widespread impact of the tornado on the community.
In neighboring Adams County, near Greenfield, three wind turbines were toppled by the storm, with one catching fire and releasing a large plume of smoke. A flood warning was issued for Butler and Black Hawk counties northeast of Des Moines, adding to the challenges faced by residents and emergency responders in the region.
The storms that swept through Iowa were part of a larger weather system that had begun on Tuesday morning with pea-sized hail, strong winds, and heavy rains. Multiple tornadoes were reported in southwest Iowa and north of Des Moines, putting more than 13 million people in several states under tornado watches at one point. This severe weather event was the latest in a series of storms that have struck the Midwest in recent weeks, causing numerous fatalities and injuries. Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri have seen over 150 preliminary reports of tornadoes this year, with the peak tornadic weather period typically occurring in May and June in these states.
