Storms Pummel Midwest with Hail, Heavy Rain, Strong Winds

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With only a few days left before the official beginning of summer, strong spring storms have been pummeling the Midwest this week with tornadoes, strong winds, rain and hail, and leaving behind widespread damage.

Golf-ball sized hail dropped in west central Iowa late on June 17, while strong winds of 70 mph roared across central, eastern and southern Iowa.

In central Iowa, authorities say semitrailer was blown off Interstate 35 in Story County, while a roof was ripped off a house and barn near Bondurant in Polk County.

In Minnesota, an apparent tornado struck the town of Austin, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and at least one person was reported with minor injuries. The National Weather Service said the storm sent debris flying, flipped cars on their sides and sent trees through roofs.

Cloud rotations were spotted in several other areas and some brief tornado touchdowns were reported, but not immediately confirmed.

Heavy rain brought flooding concerns to areas of central North Dakota hit by flooding earlier this spring. Burleigh County Emergency Manager Mary Senger said the damage means some repairs made after flooding in March and April would have to be done again. Rainfall totals in Burleigh and Morton counties reached up to five inches to seven inches.

South Dakota saw heavy rain, strong wind and hail, with two reports of funnel clouds in Stanley County.

A separate storm system that cut a wide swath across Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri knocked out power, damaged buildings and led to flash flooding. The NWS said that two tornadoes that touched down in central and western Nebraska caused little damage.

In the small Missouri town of Norborne, about an hour’s drive northeast of Kansas City, straight-line winds from a thunderstorm reached more than 74 mph, knocking down the walls of one buildings and damaging roofs and trees.

In southwest Kansas, high winds picked up a tractor-trailer rig and tossed it from the highway. The driver was not injured. The National Weather Service said it was hard to tell whether tornadoes or straight-line winds were to blame for some damage in that state, where winds reached up to 80 or 90 mph.