Two tornadoes touch down during weekend storm

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Two people were injured Saturday evening during what Henry County Emergency Management Director Walt Jackson termed a bizarre night.

?It was kind of a bizarre night because it isn?t often you have two tornadoes touch down within a half hour of each other in different parts of the county,? Jackson noted.

The National Weather Service (NWS), according to Jackson, confirmed that two EF-1 tornadoes touched down between 7 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Henry County.

Henry County?s first tornado came at 7 p.m. and demolished some turkey barns to a farm on the Henry-Washington County line (the residence is in Henry County and the barns are in Washington County) near Wayland. No estimate was given on the amount of birds housed in the barns.

Jackson said wind speed in the EF1 tornado was gauged at 100 miles-per-hour by the NWS. The tornado was 75 yards wide and on the ground for one-and-one-half miles before lifting back into the clouds at 7:08 p.m.

Ten minutes later ? at 7:18 p.m. ? a tornado struck a mobile home between Mt. Pleasant and New London. Two occupants in the mobile home were injured, but Jackson said he could not release the names of the individuals. The individuals initially were taken to the Henry County Health Center and one individual was transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Jackson said, with non-life-threatening injuries.

He said the second tornado was on the ground for six minutes. Wind speed was estimated at 105 miles-per-hour. The twister was 75 yards wide and traveled three-and-one-half miles on the ground.

?Other weather spotters and off-duty law enforcement officers saw funnel clouds in the Rome and Westwood areas forming but went back up,? Jackson reported.

No area of the county escaped storm damage Saturday evening, Jackson said. ?It was pretty widespread. Mt. Union had some damage and I know of a camper being flipped at Oakland Mills.?

In addition to the tornadoes and wind, the county also received rain. There were also several reports of hail, although Jackson said he personally did not see any hail.

With temperatures expected in the low 90s today, storms ? some possibly severe ? are forecast for tonight.