Tornadoes 5/25. IA, MN, KS, IL, ND. Cripes Central staters!

Parkersburg:
Looks like a signicant storm moved through. Witnesses say they watched come into town from the West. The Southside of the town got leveled. The Parkersburg elementary is opening for shelter tonight. Whole homes destroyed knocked off foundations and some homes flattened.

Trees down, powerlines down, some streets blocked off. Fire crews from all over the region have arrived, several ambulances on scene. Crews still trying to pull survivors from wreckage. There are concerns about gas leaks, they are being checked out. At least one person died of a heart attack.

An apparent tornado toppled buildings in a central Iowa town, trapping several people, as twisters swept across the Midwest on Sunday evening. A Butler County, Iowa, dispatcher confirmed a touchdown in Parkersburg, population 2,000, in central Iowa. She said several people were trapped in structures, but didn't know how many. Spotters also reported a tornado near Dunkerton, about 40 miles east of Parkersburg, that they said caused considerable damage and flung debris as it moved east at 23 mph.

Funnel clouds were also spotted in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, and near Dumas, Texas.


The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Hugo, just north of Minneapolis, and authorities also reported twisters in nearby Coon Rapids and Blain. Sgt. Rick Boone of the Coon Rapids Police Department said a twister cut through the middle of town, downing trees and causing minor damage to several homes. No fatalities or injuries were immediately reported. A dispatcher at the Washington County sheriff's office said the Hugo tornado leveled some houses, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities
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A National Weather Service meteorologist says he found evidence a tornado skipped around in a rural area near New Salem, with damage to farm buildings in an area about nine miles long. No one was hurt. Meteorologist John Paul Martin, who was checking the area for damage Sunday, rated it an EF1 tornado, at the low end of the scale that measures twisters. He estimated winds at about 100 mph from the Saturday night storm.

The damaged farms were about six miles from New Salem, he said. "Most of the damage would indicate wind damage, but on the farthest south farm, there's evidence there may have been a tornado along with the wind," Martin said. "It may have actually lifted and come down again," he said.

A tree fell on the corner of the roof of one farmhouse, he said, but no one was home at the time. At another farm, which was not occupied, one side of a large old red barn was pushed off its foundation, he said. The community of New Salem reported no damage, Martin said.

The National Weather Service also reported a number of other funnel cloud sightings. Tree damage was reported around Oakes, and hail was reported just west of Lisbon. A line of thunderstorms moved through eastern North Dakota.

MINNEPOLIS (AP) — Large hail and a reported tornado have damaged suburban homes as a line of severe thunderstorms passed northwest of the Twin Cities.

Multiple homes were damaged in Hugo, which appeared to be the hardest hit town, according to the National Weather Service said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Trained weather spotters also reported a tornado in Coon Rapids. The twister downed some power and phone lines and uprooted trees in the area.

Hail, some as large as baseballs, pelted Monticello, Maple Lake and Albertville, breaking house and car windows.

The National Weather Service issued a storm warning Sunday for the northwest part of the state, as a storm system sweeping in from Minnesota brought the threat of a tornado.

Softball-sized hail was reported in St. Croix County about 6 p.m., the weather agency said. Further north, residents in Barron and Polk counties were warned that the storm could produce hailstones the size of golf balls and winds of 60 mph. The storm warning there was in effect in until 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

A tornado warning was also in effect in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota until 9 p.m. The alert extended to people in Barron, Dunn, Polk and St. Croix counties.

The Weld County Sheriff's office says residents of the most heavily damaged area of tornado-stricken Windsor are reporting scammers offering fixes to their homes at unreasonable prices.

Authorities also say they have responded to "30 suspicious incidents" in a previously restricted area since residents were allowed back in yesterday, including the arrest of a man wanted in a Fort Collins homicide.

Weld County Sheriff's office spokesman Deputy Shane Scofield says residents should be wary of solicitors in the aftermath of the tornado that swept through Windsor Thursday, damaging 596 homes, including 102 which were deemed unsafe to occupy.