More than 200 tornadoes this week leaves large trail of damage

Weekend storms left a wide path of destruction with damaged property and lost lives in their wake.

The systems stretched hundreds of miles from Texas to Oklahoma and across Nebraska and Iowa.  

James Stennis, Omaha, NE Resident: “We barely made it to the basement. I heard the destruction going on upstairs. Wow. Yeah.”

Several tornadoes blitzed Omaha, Nebraska, upending entire neighborhoods and destroying hundreds of homes. 

That system then moved eastward towards Iowa, leveling parts of the town of Minden. Roofs were ripped off, a few homes were torn from their foundations and the wreckage littered the surrounding countryside. Repairs began as soon as all the emergency threats passed.  

Farm fields outside of town were being walked to pick up debris. Farmers joined their neighbors, who were trying to get back to regular spring field work. However, rain kept a lid on farm activities most of this week. 

Late Saturday in the southern Oklahoma town of Sulphur downtown buildings were leveled by a tornado with the remains blocking local streets.  

Rain was the big weather event on a larger scale. However, tornadoes did return midweek to some of the same areas, including Kansas and Texas.   

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tallied more than 200 tornadoes over the past seven day period.

But not all locations have benefited from the precipitation. Drought did expand in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. 

This week’s Drought Monitor reading of 62.74 is the lowest level of drought since June 2, 2020. The snapshot will likely improve as the data cutoff for each week is Tuesday morning and much of the country’s midsection had significant rainfall since then. 

For Market to Market, I’m Colleen Krantz. 

Contact: Paul.Yeager@iowapbs.org