Fewer than 4,000 now without power
UPDATE
By Journal staff | Posted: Monday, July 21, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- Power has been restored to most of those who lost power in the Sioux City area after a severe storm packing high winds and heavy rain blasted through the region last night and early this morning.
Downed power lines and broken poles cut electricity to about 19,000 customers altogether, according to Mark Reinders, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy. As of late Monday afternoon, 3,576 customers still did not have power.
Reinders said it could take 36 hours or more for all customers to get power back and that MidAmerican is bringing in extra crews from areas that were not affected, such as Council Bluffs, Iowa.
But Siouxlanders should brace for the next round, as there is a chance of severe weather Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night, according to Todd Heitkamp, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 80s to 90.
Wind gusts from 70 to 85 mph were recorded overnight at Sioux Gateway Airport, Heitkamp said. The Associated Press reported winds at 100 mph.
Heitkamp said areas to the east and south of Sioux City received the most damage. He said trees were damaged and farm outbuildings were destroyed south of Moville.
Approximately 2 inches of rain fell Sunday night and early Monday morning in Sioux City.
Power lines, trees and utility poles are down, at least three large machine sheds were destroyed and several homes were damaged when trees fell on them, Gary Brown, director of county emergency services said. In addition, crops suffered substantial wind damage.
Bob Wright, who lives at 2811 Marshall Ave., said a 56-foot-tall evergreen tree on his property toppled into the street, taking his neighbor's power lines with it.
More uprooted trees lay strewn across porches and balanced on house roofs this morning. Downed tree limbs and power lines blocked roads in the Morningside area, as well as streets on the north and west sides of Sioux City.
Ferocious winds ripped a sign at Sonic from its base and toppled an awning at Casey’s General Store, 1100 Lewis Blvd. Casey’s was open for business this morning, but gas pumps had been turned off.
“We didn’t want anyone near the damage or any possible injuries,” store manager Valerie Cote said.
Cote said a crane will move the awning to a secure area where it will be dismantled. She could not speculate on the cost of the damage.
Richard Hysell had planned to take the day off from work to clean up his yard. The cleanup was a bit more than he had initially anticipated. Strong winds knocked over Hysell’s fence and a backyard tree, which nearly hit his neighbor’s truck.
“The tree blew off and missed his truck by a couple of inches,” Hysell said while tending to broken tree branches in the front of his Davis Avenue home.
Neighbors of Brad and Melinda Sutton, also of Davis Avenue, weren't so lucky. The Suttons awoke early this morning to the sound of an uprooted 45-foot tree smashing their neighbor’s Suburban. Another tree landed on the edge of their neighbor’s roof. Their own home was unscathed.
“We feel really fortunate,” Melinda Sutton said.
The Suttons began cleaning up their yard, littered with leaves and downed tree branches, around 8 a.m., and by 10 a.m., they had filled a few truckloads with branches and debris, she said.
In Moville, Steven Smith had parked his 1998 Oldsmobile 88 in front of his parents’ home at 517 Jackson St. at 12:15 a.m. and ridden with a friend to Sioux City. Forty-five minutes later, a 70-foot ash tree came crashing down on top of the car, destroying it and his brother Matthew’s car, a 1995 Dodge Neon parked just behind the Olds.
Other residents began clearing branches from homes and vehicles this morning. Mayor Jim Fisher said winds reached 74 mph in the town 17 miles east of Sioux City.
Fisher said a few windows were knocked out from either high winds or debris. He said two walls in a home being built on the east side of town fell. A large Morton-type shed was destroyed south of town along Woodbury County Road K-64.
City crews began moving large branches at 6 a.m. and will continue to work throughout the day.
“We’ve heard no reports of injuries and we’re thankful for that,” Fisher said.
Robert Craig, a foreman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, said the wind blew the roof off the company's century-old depot at 1801 Highway 75 North.
"It is a mess down here," Craig said. "(The wind) picked up our roof and threw it about 50 to 100 feet into our parking lot."
He said power was out from about 12:30 or 1 a.m. until 5:30 or 6 a.m.
In Sioux City, Assistant Fire Chief Pat Flynn said a tree fell on a trailer at 4101 Gordon Drive. He said firefighters were able to gain entry and help the occupants get out and that no injuries were reported.
“I think they got out and everything was all right,” he said.
Ed Porter, a Red Cross volunteer and former longtime Journal photographer, said the tree split the trailer in half. Occupants were asleep at either end when the big cottonwood crashed through the middle of it.
"Basically, the tree came down and separated the people and they couldn't get to each other," Porter said.
He said a tree also went through the living room window of a house on 27th Street, spraying a woman who was sleeping on the couch with broken glass.
The Siouxland Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing basic assistance to members of both households, Porter said.
Firefighters also responded to reports of wires being ripped from houses.
“Sometimes that creates smoke inside,” he said. “We had a few shorts inside due to water getting in. Nothing too major, but we had a lot of wires down and a lot of trees down.”
Flynn said firefighters responded to an estimated 50 storm-related calls Sunday night.
Brown, the emergency services director, said crews are still assessing the wreckage and that cleanup will take some time. "It'll take three weeks to pick up all the trees and clean up the mess."
The storm came from the west and moved east, and, alerted by a tornado watch and warnings of severe thunderstorms and flooding, emergency personnel were in place.
"We've been out all night," Brown said shortly after 7 a.m. Monday on a stop at home to dry off and change clothes before heading out again. "We knew it was coming."
Elsewhere in Iowa, the roof reportedly was torn off a building at the state women's prison in Mitchellville, near Des Moines. Statewide, more than 200,000 customers had lost electricity.
Return to siouxcityjournal.com for more details as they become available.
Downed power lines and broken poles cut electricity to about 19,000 customers altogether, according to Mark Reinders, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy. As of late Monday afternoon, 3,576 customers still did not have power.
Reinders said it could take 36 hours or more for all customers to get power back and that MidAmerican is bringing in extra crews from areas that were not affected, such as Council Bluffs, Iowa.
But Siouxlanders should brace for the next round, as there is a chance of severe weather Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night, according to Todd Heitkamp, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 80s to 90.
Wind gusts from 70 to 85 mph were recorded overnight at Sioux Gateway Airport, Heitkamp said. The Associated Press reported winds at 100 mph.
Heitkamp said areas to the east and south of Sioux City received the most damage. He said trees were damaged and farm outbuildings were destroyed south of Moville.
Approximately 2 inches of rain fell Sunday night and early Monday morning in Sioux City.
Power lines, trees and utility poles are down, at least three large machine sheds were destroyed and several homes were damaged when trees fell on them, Gary Brown, director of county emergency services said. In addition, crops suffered substantial wind damage.
Bob Wright, who lives at 2811 Marshall Ave., said a 56-foot-tall evergreen tree on his property toppled into the street, taking his neighbor's power lines with it.
More uprooted trees lay strewn across porches and balanced on house roofs this morning. Downed tree limbs and power lines blocked roads in the Morningside area, as well as streets on the north and west sides of Sioux City.
Ferocious winds ripped a sign at Sonic from its base and toppled an awning at Casey’s General Store, 1100 Lewis Blvd. Casey’s was open for business this morning, but gas pumps had been turned off.
“We didn’t want anyone near the damage or any possible injuries,” store manager Valerie Cote said.
Cote said a crane will move the awning to a secure area where it will be dismantled. She could not speculate on the cost of the damage.
Richard Hysell had planned to take the day off from work to clean up his yard. The cleanup was a bit more than he had initially anticipated. Strong winds knocked over Hysell’s fence and a backyard tree, which nearly hit his neighbor’s truck.
“The tree blew off and missed his truck by a couple of inches,” Hysell said while tending to broken tree branches in the front of his Davis Avenue home.
Neighbors of Brad and Melinda Sutton, also of Davis Avenue, weren't so lucky. The Suttons awoke early this morning to the sound of an uprooted 45-foot tree smashing their neighbor’s Suburban. Another tree landed on the edge of their neighbor’s roof. Their own home was unscathed.
“We feel really fortunate,” Melinda Sutton said.
The Suttons began cleaning up their yard, littered with leaves and downed tree branches, around 8 a.m., and by 10 a.m., they had filled a few truckloads with branches and debris, she said.
In Moville, Steven Smith had parked his 1998 Oldsmobile 88 in front of his parents’ home at 517 Jackson St. at 12:15 a.m. and ridden with a friend to Sioux City. Forty-five minutes later, a 70-foot ash tree came crashing down on top of the car, destroying it and his brother Matthew’s car, a 1995 Dodge Neon parked just behind the Olds.
Other residents began clearing branches from homes and vehicles this morning. Mayor Jim Fisher said winds reached 74 mph in the town 17 miles east of Sioux City.
Fisher said a few windows were knocked out from either high winds or debris. He said two walls in a home being built on the east side of town fell. A large Morton-type shed was destroyed south of town along Woodbury County Road K-64.
City crews began moving large branches at 6 a.m. and will continue to work throughout the day.
“We’ve heard no reports of injuries and we’re thankful for that,” Fisher said.
Robert Craig, a foreman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, said the wind blew the roof off the company's century-old depot at 1801 Highway 75 North.
"It is a mess down here," Craig said. "(The wind) picked up our roof and threw it about 50 to 100 feet into our parking lot."
He said power was out from about 12:30 or 1 a.m. until 5:30 or 6 a.m.
In Sioux City, Assistant Fire Chief Pat Flynn said a tree fell on a trailer at 4101 Gordon Drive. He said firefighters were able to gain entry and help the occupants get out and that no injuries were reported.
“I think they got out and everything was all right,” he said.
Ed Porter, a Red Cross volunteer and former longtime Journal photographer, said the tree split the trailer in half. Occupants were asleep at either end when the big cottonwood crashed through the middle of it.
"Basically, the tree came down and separated the people and they couldn't get to each other," Porter said.
He said a tree also went through the living room window of a house on 27th Street, spraying a woman who was sleeping on the couch with broken glass.
The Siouxland Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing basic assistance to members of both households, Porter said.
Firefighters also responded to reports of wires being ripped from houses.
“Sometimes that creates smoke inside,” he said. “We had a few shorts inside due to water getting in. Nothing too major, but we had a lot of wires down and a lot of trees down.”
Flynn said firefighters responded to an estimated 50 storm-related calls Sunday night.
Brown, the emergency services director, said crews are still assessing the wreckage and that cleanup will take some time. "It'll take three weeks to pick up all the trees and clean up the mess."
The storm came from the west and moved east, and, alerted by a tornado watch and warnings of severe thunderstorms and flooding, emergency personnel were in place.
"We've been out all night," Brown said shortly after 7 a.m. Monday on a stop at home to dry off and change clothes before heading out again. "We knew it was coming."
Elsewhere in Iowa, the roof reportedly was torn off a building at the state women's prison in Mitchellville, near Des Moines. Statewide, more than 200,000 customers had lost electricity.
Return to siouxcityjournal.com for more details as they become available.
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Linda wrote on Jul 21, 2008 6:20 PM:
NewsToday wrote on Jul 21, 2008 4:25 PM:
SpongeBobSquarePants wrote on Jul 21, 2008 3:43 PM:
car wrote on Jul 21, 2008 3:41 PM:
Mother Nature's way of pruning, I guess. "
Pat wrote on Jul 21, 2008 3:15 PM: