Northwest Iowa — A strong storm swept through northwest Iowa early Monday morning leaving a path of wind-borne devastation in it’s wake. The storm, which moved through the Sheldon area around 5:45 Monday morning, came charging through at some 70 miles per hour. While downtown Sheldon only received .18 inches of rain from the storm, the National Weather Service says that the winds that howled through our area may have been blowing nearly 100 miles per hour.
Many trees were stripped or toppled, including several at the Sheldon Golf & Country Club. There was extensive damage at the Sheldon Airport, where a hanger collapsed under the force of the straight-line winds, also damaged or destroyed four aircraft at the airport.
Damage was also evident at the Risefest grounds in eastern Sheldon. We’ve also received reports of a building under construction in the Runger Addition of east Sheldon being flattened by the winds.
A listener tells us that there is a power outage in the rural area north of Sheldon, caused by the storm, as well. Sioux County authorities ask that people avoid the are of McKinley Avenue and 300th Street, north of Sheldon, due to downed power lines.
Damage reports are still coming in at this hour, so keep listening to KIWA Radio as this story develops.
Here are some images of the storm damage that have been emailed to us. If you have storm damage photos to share, please email them to newstips@kiwaradio.com
