Saturday, June 07, 2008

Destruction In A Small Town


The day of the tornado on Sunday, May 25th dawned murky and warm here, then in the afternoon the sun partially came out of the mist and it became oppressively humid and still. Towering cumulus clouds were rapidly climbing higher, and with a strong cold front coming, I knew Iowa was in trouble. Suddenly a gusting, drier, and cooler wind sprang up here in Iowa City, and you could just feel all the heat, moisture, and scary atmospheric energy flying to our north, as if a bathtub drain was opened. A half-mile wide F5 tornado had formed in northern Iowa and in a matter of minutes destroyed half of Parkersburg, Iowa, then rumbled straight east to ravage two more towns.
Rebuilding will take a long time and a lot of money. Fortunately family, friends, and neighbors have come to help. Insurance companies... in some cases that's a different matter.

To see the frightening power of the Parkersburg tornado, go to this link:
Tornado.
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Comments:
That's some great graffiti there. I can't imagine living with the threat of tornadoes on such a frequent basis, such as you have down there.
 
Gardenista... Actually, your chance of getting killed by a tornado most years here in Iowa is somewhat akin to having a car run over you in your own driveway; not something you need to worry too much about. However, this is not your average year.
Don
 
Don, thanks for posting the link to that video... it was terrifying, yet so illustrative of the power of tornadoes. I grew up with them, have seen my fair share, and feel that I have a good sense of what happens when they strike, but you never know.
 
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