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Storm rolls through Mt. Pleasant
High winds and downed trees cause a loss of power for many in Mt. Pleasant
MT. PLEASANT — The wind howled through much of Iowa Monday evening alongside significant rainfall, thunder and lightning. With these storms passing through, many in Mt. Pleasant experienced power outages, but only for a short time before Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities were able to restore service.
“Due to storm damage, we currently have several electrical outages,” Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities informed customers around 7 p.m. Monday night. “The phones can get very busy during this time, please be patient as our crew continues to assess the damage and make necessary repairs.”
Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities received reports of power outages throughout town on Broadway, Locust, Jackson, Saunders, South Adams, Webster, East Washington, Irish Ridge, North Palm, and many others.
According to Alexandra Dale on Jay Street, the heavy downpour and strong winds snapped a tree branch onto a power line then caught on fire near her home. While this did not cause her home to lose power, crews did have to turn the power off less than 30 minutes to safely remove the tree limb.
While the high winds with the storm were concerning, Dale’s children enjoyed watching workers do their best in response to the storm damage.
“The fire department and utilities department responded fast,” she said. “We drove around after the rain stopped and they were all over town working fast to restore power.”
A large flash of light and sparks erupted near a residence on Lincoln Street as Kristin Coleman filmed the pouring rain and blowing wind from her door. Almost simultaneously as rain poured and the wind blew.
Another Mt. Pleasant on Webster Street watched as crews went straight to work on a transformer to restore power to homes in the area.
By 9 p.m. Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities announced that all power should be restored.
According to the National Weather Service, these storms began in northern Iowa Monday afternoon and became a powerful line of wind producing storms.
“These storms brought widespread damaging winds in excess of 70 mph for many locations extending from Eastern Iowa, much of Illinois, and into Indiana,” National Weather Service said in a summary of the July 15 events.
While the Storm Prediction Center classified the event as a Derecho, it appears that most of Henry County came out the other side mostly unscathed with neighbors helping neighbors, municipal entities responding quickly, and emergency crews assisting as needed.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
