Residents in the northwest Iowa town of Kingsley spent the night listening to sirens and snapping trees as weekend storms tore through Plymouth County and spread live power lines across the community.
On Sunday, May 17, officials warned nobody could enter or leave the town of about 1,400 residents, roughly 30 miles northeast of Sioux City, as hanging power lines made roads too dangerous to pass. Only Kingsley residents were then allowed to enter the town.
“People are now getting up after a very short night of sleep,” Plymouth County Emergency Manager Rebecca Socknat told the Des Moines Register Monday morning. “There’s trees down everywhere. I mean, trees were snapped, trees were uprooted, we had power poles snapped.”
By Monday morning, emergency personnel had managed to clear some paths through town, though parts of Kingsley still did not have full power restored. In a Facebook post, Kingsley Fire warned residents there were still “MANY MANY power lines down” and urged people to assume every line was live.
The storms hit Kingsley around 8 p.m. Sunday, according to Socknat, who lives in rural Kingsley. The town was later placed under a tornado warning as the storm intensified.
Storms swept across Iowa throughout the weekend and into Monday, bringing damaging winds, hail and heavy rain to parts of the state.
The National Weather Service warned portions of Iowa remained under an enhanced risk for severe weather Monday, including the possibility of tornadoes and large hail. In southwest Iowa, hail up to 2 inches wide was reported near Stanton on Sunday as thunderstorms continued moving east across the state.
In northwest Iowa, the National Weather Service out of Sioux Falls warned Sunday night of “DESTRUCTIVE STORMS” capable of producing 80 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail.
Forecasters warned flying debris would be dangerous to anyone caught outside and said mobile homes could be heavily damaged. The National Weather Service also warned of “considerable” damage to roofs, windows and vehicles. A personal weather station west of Correctionville, about 17 miles from Kingsley, recorded a 74 mph wind gust Sunday evening.
Socknat said firefighters rotated through overnight shifts while emergency crews began boots-on-the-ground damage assessments at daybreak.
“As a government official, I can tell you I’m running on three to four hours of sleep right now,” Socknat said.
Officials had already identified at least one uninhabitable home Monday morning, though damage assessments were still ongoing. Socknat said emergency crews are still trying to determine whether the damage was caused strictly by severe winds or by a tornado.
Socknat said residents can dump tree debris at the city’s existing tree pile. She also said anyone wishing to volunteer to help with cleanup should first report to the Kingsley Fire Station.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Access to Iowa town cut off after destructive storms down power lines
Reporting by Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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