No injuries have been reported after a round of severe weather made its way through north Iowa Tuesday night.
Several severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued over a six-hour period when the storm system started impacting the area starting around 7 p.m. Portions of Floyd, Mitchell, Worth and Cerro Gordo counties were under tornado warnings at various times throughout the evening. The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes in north Iowa.
The NWS says a wind gust of 72 mph was recorded in Nora Springs at 9 p.m. Additional wind gusts included 62 mph at Rockwell shortly before 10:30 p.m., 64 mph at the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport east of Charles City at 11:15 p.m., 55 mph north of Ionia at 11:20 p.m., and 62 mph at Bluffton in Winneshiek County just after 11:30 p.m.
Other storm reports from the NWS include heavy rains in Mitchell County with almost five inches of rain near Carpenter and almost three inches of rain at St. Ansgar. 1.75 inch hail was reported in Garner with 1-inch hail falling in Ventura, Britt, Grafton, and near Clear Lake; plus .75-inch hail in Hawkeye. Several buildings on the southside of Mason City were also damaged or destroyed by Tuesday’s severe weather.
