Numerous buildings were damaged, and thousands lost power in Storm Lake after severe weather

STORM LAKE, Iowa (KTIV)— Buena Vista County, Iowa, was hit hard by storms after a system moved in late Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Much of the damage was seen in Storm Lake, Iowa, the county’s biggest community, which has a population of about 11,269, according to the latest U.S. Census data.

The storms left many without power and damaged buildings throughout the community. In some cases, the buildings were destroyed.

The damage seen in Storm Lake, IA

Earlier Friday morning, Storm Lake Police said the “entire city” was without power and people needed to shelter in place during the storm.

As the storm passed, residents found that many homes, businesses and vehicles were damaged by the straight-line winds.

The damage ranged from siding being torn from buildings to entire sections collapsing.

Storm Lake’s Dollar General was one of the businesses hit, and an employee told KTIV that the front of the store was blown into the building. Friday morning, you could see the broken windows and the debris that had gotten inside.

Additionally, the semi drivers who had their trucks parked in the area had debris lodged underneath their vehicles, making it so they couldn’t leave.

Just down the street from the Dollar General, the Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh had part of its roof ripped off.

Storm Lake’s Hy-Vee grocery store was one of the few places that had power after the storms, with people from across the community going there to get food.

A local manufacturer, Merrill Manufacturing, was also hit hard by the storms. Their building on Lake Ave, Merrill Manufacturing North, collapsed during the storms. Pictures from the site show the ceiling caved in and a large part of the back wall fell into the building.

Merrill Manufacturing’s Facebook page says they’ve been around since 1949 and provide water system products.

And in an example showing just how damaging these winds were, the photo below depicts a tree branch going through a Storm Lake home’s wall. The branch managed to penetrate through the building into a shelf, luckily, it wasn’t near any sort of bed.

Damage was seen outside of Storm Lake, Iowa, as well. The video below, taken by Nancy Marshall, shows how one of her son’s buildings near Alta collapsed during the storm. She says her son, Kevin Marshall, spent Friday morning rescuing the animals stuck inside.

Below you’ll find our full gallery showing the damage seen in Storm Lake. If you have storm damage photos or videos you’d like to share with us, submit them here.

Power restored to Storm Lake residents after hours of repair work

Over 6,500 customers with MidAmerican Energy were without power Friday morning after strong winds damaged vast parts of Storm Lake’s energy infrastructure.

A spokesperson with MidAmerican says at around 1:15 a.m. Friday, the storm damaged three transmission lines that provide power to the Storm Lake area. This broke some two dozen transmission poles and downed overhead lines.

Crews restored those transmission lines by late Friday morning, and with those repaired, power began coming back on for customers.

“Our transmission system feeds power to our distribution system, and that, too, sustained damage. So far, we’ve identified at least ten broken poles in Storm Lake and there are downed overhead lines at several locations. Our crews will focus on restoring the largest number of customers first, and we will continue until we restore every customer who can safely receive service,” stated MidAmerican Energy in a press release.

As of 9 p.m. Friday, a majority of the outages were restored, leaving just under 200 customers without power in Storm Lake and the rest of Buena Vista County.

Other towns that experienced power outages Friday included:

• Early
• Fonda
• Juniata
• Nemaha
• Newell
• Sulphur Springs
• Truesdale
• Varina

Buena Vista County residents who rely on powered medical devices were able to go to the main entrance at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center for assistance.

No injuries as Storm Lake begins to clean up the damage

Dana Larsen, a Storm Lake official who sends information to the media, says as of 11 a.m. Friday, no major injuries have been reported.

According to Larsen, Storm Lake High School’s gymnasium was turned into a shelter but wasn’t needed, so it has since closed.

Officials have announced where they can drop off storm damage debris. There are three sites residents can go to:

• Field of Dreams parking area – 5941 Vestal Street.
• Discovery Center parking lot – Hwy 110 and Abner Bell Road.
• Fire Station parking lot – 820 Oneida, parking lot on east side of the building

There’ll be dumpsters at those sites for the next few days. Anyone who would like to volunteer in the cleanup on Saturday, April 19, can go to the Storm Lake Fire Station between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The Red Cross is also bringing its Mobile Emergency Response Vehicle to Storm Lake. They’ll provide residents with supplies such as tarps, brooms, Clorox, gloves, trash bags and other necessities.

Residents can contact Mike Franz at (712) 291-0555 for more information.

Because of the cleanup efforts and traffic signals being down, residents should expect traffic to be disrupted. The Storm Lake Police Department has released the following tips on how to stay safe.

• Stay away from downed power lines — always assume they are live and dangerous.
• Avoid unnecessary travel around town. Blocked roads and hidden hazards make driving extremely dangerous.
• Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly or those who may need extra assistance.
• Report emergencies or hazardous situations to 911. For non-emergencies, please use our non-emergency line.

Already, scammers have been reported in the Storm Lake area, trying to take advantage of the situation. Police have shared several tips on how to protect yourself and your home. Follow this link to see them.

Storm Lake has also set up an email for questions and those who need help. Residents can email stormdmage@stormlake.com.

Did a tornado hit Storm Lake?

KTIV has seen several posts on social media of people asking if it was a tornado that hit Storm Lake. And the answer is no, the National Weather Service says the damage was caused by straight-line wind gusts, or in other words, strong winds that went in one direction.

“While high winds associated with thunderstorm cells caused significant damages to a number of Storm Lake homes and businesses in the early morning hours of Friday, April 18, the storm is not being considered a tornado,” stated Storm Lake officials in a press release.

Officials say Storm Lake’s sirens didn’t go off during Friday morning’s storm because a tornado warning wasn’t issued.

“The storms developed well behind the cold front, so the odds of any tornado developing with the storms would be very small,” said Todd Heitkamp, Meteorologist in Charge with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

To learn more about how the winds became so strong in Storm Lake, follow this link, where KTIV’s Owen Basselman breaks down the science of this weather event.

This is a Developing Story. We’ll update this article as more information about Storm Lake’s storm damage and cleanup becomes available.

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