Sgt. Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Patrol told CNN that just before 5 p.m., a violent storm that was approximately 50 miles southwest of Des Moines passed over the city of Greenfield, Iowa, and resulted in a tornado that caused "a lot of damage" to numerous residences and other structures.
Dinkla stated, "Unfortunately, we can confirm that there have been fatalities with this tornado," later on in the evening on Tuesday. He didn't elaborate on the deaths in any way.
Dinkla stated that in addition to residents, a nearby hospital also suffered severe damage. According to the sergeant, patients were taken to adjacent hospitals for treatment of their wounds.
The tornado that tore across Greenfield can be seen in its catastrophic path on video captured by CNN affiliate KCCI. The footage shows numerous downed trees, damaged cars, heaps of trash, and completely destroyed homes and buildings.
Clel Baudler, a former state legislator from Iowa who resides a half mile from Greenfield, told CNN on Tuesday that "there is basically nothing left." "It passed through Greenfield exactly."
About 90 miles southwest of Des Moines, in Adams County, Iowa, there was another storm-related fatality, county medical examiner Lisa Brown told CNN. Brown stated that a tornado was the cause of the death but was unable to provide any more information.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a rare "potentially dangerous situation" tornado watch for portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois due to a strong line of thunderstorms that formed Tuesday afternoon. Only in exceptional cases, where there is a high degree of confidence in the likelihood of many long-lasting tornadoes with an EF2 or higher intensity, is a specific type of tornado watch issued.
As a result of the storm, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds approved the declaration of a disaster emergency for 15 counties. According to a news release, this will enable state resources to "respond to and recover from the effects of the severe weather."
Reynolds stated in a statement that she is "committed to providing the full resources of the state to support the response and recovery effort" and that she will visit Greenfield on Wednesday morning to survey the damage caused by the extreme weather.
As of Tuesday at 10:30 p.m., over 30,000 people in Iowa were without electricity, according to Poweroutage.us.
According to the SPC, one of the several dangerous risks associated with Tuesday's severe thunderstorm outbreak is the possibility of tornadoes. Softball-sized hail and destructive wind gusts up to 90 mph are also possible.
According to the SPC, there is a Level 3 or Level 4 risk of severe thunderstorms on Tuesday for about 25 million people in the region.
Widespread, dangerous impacts are mostly anticipated in a large portion of Iowa, northwest Illinois, southwest Wisconsin, and northern Missouri. Storms with significant damage could possibly affect Chicago, Milwaukee, and other major cities.
Tornado warnings were issued late Tuesday afternoon as strong storms were threatening Des Moines and forcing the airport to close for a while. The city is still in the path of the most powerful storms and possible tornadoes.
"Two tornado warnings, one of which included tornado observations, were issued for the Des Moines metro area. At 4:45 p.m. local time, the National Weather Service office there advised people to seek shelter.
Montgomery area, Iowa, emergency management officials acknowledged Tuesday afternoon that there were "multiple tornadoes" across the area; as of yet, no injuries have been recorded. Roads need to be cleared by officials in order to access the impacted properties.
Tags
an official reports multiple fatalities after a tornado tears through a rural Iowa city.
As violent storms lash the Midwest