Damage has been reported across Iowa after severe weather hit the area again Monday afternoon. The National Weather Service says it received dozens of reports of damage, caused by high winds and large hail. There were also several reports of storms that were capable of producing tornadoes, but officials have not confirmed those yet.
One person died in Linn County when the storms caused a building to collapse. It happened in Fairfax at a building owned by Intermec Technologies. Strong winds extensively damaged the building and trapped the man. He was an employee. His name has not been released.
High winds were reported across the KMCH listening area. Dubuque County Emergency Management says 80 to 90 mile per hour wind gusts were estimated to have hit Bernard Monday afternoon. Four trailers were damaged or in town when the storms move through. Also in Bernard, there was a path 100 yards wide and three-quarters of a mile long in which 50 to 70 percent of the trees were blown down or snapped in half.
Seventy-five mile per hour winds were reported in Garber, with trees and power lines down in Garber, Volga and Elkader. The National Weather Service received a report of numerous trees down from Garber to Osterdock to Guttenberg. Manchester and other parts of Delaware County also had tree damage, with large trees down. Manchester Police say one driver became trapped in his vehicle when two trees fell down on a city street. 21-year old Bryan Boeckenstedt of Manchester was driving down North Franklin Street when the storm uprooted two trees, dropping one in front of his car. Authorities say he hit his brakes but slid into the downed tree. The second tree fell behind his car, trapping him inside until a bystander helped him out.
The winds also knocked out power to the Independence area Monday afternoon.
And the storms brought heavy rain, with two and half inches of rain falling in Cascade Monday afternoon. A number of highways, streets and roads around eastern Iowa saw flooding, with extensive flooding reported in southeast Iowa City. Officials there say Monday’s flooding exceeded the floods of 1993.