Mike Wilhelm's Alabama Weather Blog

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Bamawx.com

DES MOINES - NWS personnel have rated the Parkersburg-New Hartford-Dunkerton tornado as a Low-end EF 5 (correlated to wind speeds up to 205 MPH) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale at the locations of maximum damage. Additional details on path length, width, etc. will be posted on this webpage Wednesday, May 28. This is the first EF5 tornado in Iowa since the Jordan tornado of June 13, 1976.

From the Des Moines NWS:

SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OCCURRED ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN END OF PARKERSBURG AND ALONG A PATH TO JUST NORTH
OF NEW HARTFORD. NUMEROUS STRUCTURES COMPLETELY DESTROYED FROM
PARKERSBURG TO NEAR NEW HARTFORD. THE TORNADO CONTINUED EASTWARD
TO JUST NORTH OF THE WATERLOO AND CEDAR FALLS AREA. SIGNIFICANT
DAMAGE ALSO OCCURRED NORTH OF DUNKERTON WHERE THE TORNADO
INCREASED TO ITS GREATEST PATH WIDTH. ADDITIONAL EF2 TO EF3 DAMAGE
OCCURED NORTHEAST OF DUNKERTON BEFORE THE TORNADO LIFTED SHORTLY
BEFORE MOVING INTO BUCHANAN COUNTY. THIS STORM ALSO PRODUCED
SUBSTANTIAL STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE ALONG THE SOUTHERN
PERIPHERY OF THE STORM JUST SOUTH OF THE TORNADO TRACK.
PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES THAT STRAIGHT LINE WINDS OF 90 TO 100 MPH
OCCURRED WITH THIS STORM. AT 537 PM CDT THE WATERLOO AIRPORT
RECORDED A 93 MPH WIND GUST. INITIAL SURVEY RESULTS SUGGEST THAT
STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE WAS THE CAUSE OF THE SEVERE DAMAGE AT
THE RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEALERSHIP NORTH OF CEDAR FALLS.

Amazing damage video - great music



Iowa storm chaser captures this video of a funnel that hit Parkersburg Iowa:



First Person: 'Everything's Gone'
'Everything's Gone'First Person: 'Everything's Gone'The Associated PressThe people of Parkersburg, Iowa begin cleaning up after a deadly tornado came through town, leveling homes and throwing cars into trees. (May 26)This video contains ONLY natural sound. No script is available.