(Edited and updated Sept. 3 with crop damage information)
Wind damage gives a new meaning to “Labor Day”
Many Jefferson residents spent the Labor Day holiday laboring, cleaning up downed trees and debris after severe weather brought high winds Sunday evening. According to Greene County emergency management director Dennis Morlan, the bulk of the damage was in Jefferson, with only minimal damage reported in other county communities. No injuries related to the storm were reported.
The high winds hit Jefferson shortly after 8 pm, although Morlan said he had been tracking the large storm since it crossed into Iowa, watching three computer monitors simultaneously at his office. He said he sent the county’s storm spotters out when the high wind speed became apparent.
Morlan said he saw on a computer rotating winds northwest of Churdan. Chief deputy Jack Williams was in the area and confirmed seeing a rotation, although with heavy rain it was difficult. There were no communities in the path of that rotation, Morlan said.
According to Morlan, wind speeds were between 60 and 70 mph. An owner of a wind turbine west of Jefferson in Bristol Township said his computer reported a peak wind speed of 72 mph at the turbine.
Tornado sirens did not sound in Jefferson despite the damaging winds. Morlan said that per the policy set by the city council, the sirens are sounded if the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning or if a spotter confirms seeing a tornado with Jefferson in its path. Neither happened Sunday night.
Morlan said small hail was reported near Churdan. There were no widespread power outages, but there were some isolated power outages where trees fell on electrical lines. Grand Junction and Rippey reported downed power lines, and there were lines down near U Ave both north and south of Rippey.
Sheriff Steve Haupert responded to County Road E-63 in Greenbrier Township, where Morlan’s computers were reporting the most dangerous winds. The county secondary roads department was called to clear downed trees in Greenbrier and Franklin Township. There were also trees down on Highway 4 near the south county line. The Iowa Department of Transportation took care of them.
Crop damage was spotty but primarily south of Jefferson and west of Highway 4, according to staff at Farmers Mutual Insurance. Some farm fields were untouched, while others saw significant damage. No calculation of the value of the lost crop was available as of Wednesday. (See related story.)
Many members of the Jefferson fire department had answered the call for storm spotters. After the storm passed, they assisted two members of the Jefferson street department in removing large trees from streets. Lanes of travel on W. Lincoln Way and on S. Elm were blocked. The street department used a front loader and the fire department dragged large limbs using chains on the back of a fire truck. Limbs were dragged to the Trinity Lutheran Church parking lot and to the west parking lot at Greene County High School until morning.
The city brush pile at Daubendiek park was not available Monday because of the soggy ground there. Residents were allowed to pile brush on S. Maple St next to the municipal swimming pool.
Many people considered themselves lucky. Despite the loss of many very large trees, damage to homes was very minimal. Vehicles were crushed, though, on McDuffie Drive. A 2007 Ford 500 owned by Chelsea Flack and a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado were damaged by the same tree.
Just around the bend, Rick and Janet Scheuermann’s 1999 Chevy Suburban, their 1997 Camaro convertible, and their 2014 Chevy Silverado were damaged by a large tree. The tree only grazed their new 2015 Chaparell camper.
Morlan was satisfied with the work of emergency responders Sunday night. “I keep an eye on things via the computers to keep everyone safe, county residents and the responders,” Morlan said. “The system works, and it works well.”
He commended the spotters, saying that there are sometimes they aren’t sent out for a year or two, but when they’re needed, their skills are sharp and they’re ready to go. “We have good, committed volunteers and I’m so proud of every one of them,” he said.
He also noted how well people from across the county work together. “Each town and each department wants its autonomy, and we understand that. But we all know that if dew hits the fan, we’ll be there for each other. We’ll help out. It pleases me no end how well the county works together.”
Morlan said there was very little damage to publicly owned property. A few limbs fell on the courthouse square, but almost every flower basket was still attached to its pole, and the flags were flying when the storm passed.
