Nebraska, Iowa clean up from storms; Cass County was site of at least three weak tornadoes

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Property owners in some parts of the region will be eyeing repairs and cleanup after powerful winds and hail swept through Monday evening.

Some of the most extensive damage was reported in Fremont County, Iowa.

Douglas, Sarpy and Cass Counties were not reporting severe damage.

Mike Crecelius, emergency management coordinator for Iowa’s Fremont County, said cleanup is underway. There are reports of roof damage to homes and businesses, he said.

The post office in Sidney, Iowa, lost its roof.

Winds damaged grain bins, toppled a field irrigator and uprooted trees, he said. Wind gusts of almost 90 mph were reported, according to the National Weather Service.

Sandy Weyers, emergency management director for Cass County in Nebraska, said the storm knocked down some smaller trees, blew down limbs and downed power lines. Some roads flooded in the Cedar Creek area, and there was a report of hail damaging crops in the Mynard area, Weyers said.

Paul Johnson, emergency management director for Douglas County, said there were reports of hail damage in western parts of the county and of wind blowing off roof shingles. Some limbs were down, but there were no reports of severe tree or structure damage from the storm, he said.

Hail hit parts of Sarpy County, but there were no reports of severe damage, an emergency management official said.

Ten tornado warnings were issued Monday afternoon and evening in eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa, said Van DeWald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“The atmosphere was pretty ripe for development,” he said. In some areas, like Louisville and Cedar Creek, there was enough visibility that a tornado could be seen touching down. In other areas, radar indicated tornadic conditions, but rain was so intense that people had difficulty seeing whether one formed, he said.

Suzanne Fortin of the National Weather Service office in Valley said weather service crews surveyed storm damage Tuesday to determine whether tornadoes had touched down and, if so, their intensity.

In Cass County, crews concluded that at least three short-lived, weak tornadoes occurred. All were classified EF-0 tornadoes with winds estimated at 60 to 75 mph. A touchdown captured on video near Louisville did not cause any damage, and two others between Louisville and Murray caused some building damage at two rural home sites. Trees also were damaged. Some of the damage might have been caused by yet an additional tornado, according to the weather service.

More tornadoes may be confirmed to have occurred elsewhere in the region, once damage assessments are complete, according to the weather service.

by Michael O’Connor (2018, June 13) World-Herald News Service

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Kyrie Wagner