Fatal tornado destroys portion of Greenfield

GREENFIELD (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol has confirmed multiple deaths from a tornado and at least a dozen injuries in storms Tuesday, but it has not released specific numbers. Greenfield was hit by a tornado.

“We do have confirmed fatalities,” Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said at a news conference Tuesday night. He said authorities were still determining the total number. Adams County Sheriff’s Office reported a death at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday of one person in a car found near Highway 148 and Joshua Tree Avenue. The name of the person was not released.

“Things like this really do impact an entire community,” he said. “The one things we’ve seen already is the resilience and and bringing together many of the resources in the Greenfield community and surrounding areas. This how Iowans and how we all work together.”

Powerful storms that rolled through the Midwest spun up multiple tornadoes, including a fierce twister that smashed through Greenfield, with a population of about 2,000. The twister carved a bleak landscape of destroyed homes and businesses, shredded trees, smashed cars and widely strewn debris.

In the aftermath of the storm, parts of Greenfield appeared devastated. Mounds of broken wood, branches, car parts and other debris littered lots where homes once stood. Cars lay busted and bent while damaged houses sat skewed against the gray and overcast sky. Trees stood — barely — bereft of branches or leaves. Residents helped each other salvage furniture and other belongings from mounds of debris or from homes barely left standing.

Multiple people were injured in Greenfield. Emergency response units from several surrounding towns and counties responded. Multiple ambulances were seen leaving town with emergency lights activated. A triage stage was set up in the parking lot of Greenfield Lumber located on Highway 25. Nodaway Valley High School was converted into a shelter for those displaced by the storm.

The Adair County Health System hospital in Greenfield was damaged in the storm, but Mercy One spokesman Todd Mizener said he had no further details. The hospital is affiliated with Mercy One, and officials were on their way to Greenfield to assess the damage.

Valerie Warrior lives on Greenfield’s east side, behind the Casey’s General Store located at the corner of Highways 25 and 92. Warrior said she went to the basement and added a tornado’s reputation sound is true.

“I heard the freight train,” she said while assessing the exterior damage of her house that withstood the storm.

Some parts of the town were saved from the destruction. Denna Mitchell said she ran for cover in her house on the town’s west side as the storm approached. After it passed, and her house survived, she was surprised at the amount of communication from others through her cellphone in town who had lost it all.

“What happened,” she said she asked herself before she reached damaged portions of town. Dinkla said the tornado entered south central Greenfield and went in a northeast direction.

MaryAnne Lilly was out picking up small tree branches and twigs that fell off during the high winds. Other than losing electricity, she said her home was unscathed. Look south down the street from her home and the destruction was just a few properties away.

“I was very fortunate,” she said pointing to the large tree planted between her house and the street. “If that would have fallen.”

Rogue Paxton said he sheltered in the basement of his home when the storm moved through. He told WOI-TV he thought the house was lost but said his family got lucky.

“But everyone else is not so much, like my brother Cody, his house just got wiped,” Paxton said. “Then you see all these people out here helping each other. ... Everything’s going to be fine because we have each other, but it’s just going to be really, really rough. It is a mess.”

Multiple tornadoes were reported throughout the state, and one also apparently took down several wind turbines. Des Moines television station KCCI-TV showed at least three wind turbines that were toppled by an apparent tornado in southwest Iowa, and at least one was in flames with black smoke pluming from the bent structure.

Wind farms are built to withstand tornadoes, hurricanes and other powerful winds. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, turbines are designed to shut off when winds exceed certain thresholds, typically about 55 mph. They also lock and feather their blades, and turn into the wind, to minimize the strain.

The town bills itself as “the friendly wave as you walk” type of place with tree-lined streets — before the storm — and “the crack of the fireworks or twinkle of the lights” on special holidays. Also touting itself as the “perfect place to grow,” Greenfield prides itself on being a town where business owners know your name and neighbors help neighbors, according to its visitors page.

Mary Long, the owner of Long’s Market in downtown Greenfield, said she rode out the storm at her business in the community’s historic town square, which largely escaped damage. Long said there appeared to be widespread damage on the east and south sides of town.

“I could hear this roaring, like the proverbial freight train, and then it was just done,” she said.

Camille Blair said the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce office where she works closed about 2 p.m. ahead of the storm. She emerged from her home to describe widespread damage and scattered debris.

“There’s a pretty significant roof damage to several houses that I know will need whole new roofs,” she said. “And I can see from my house it kind of went in a straight line down the road.”

In far southwestern Iowa, video posted to social media showed a tornado just northwest of Red Oak. Further east and north, the National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings for areas near the towns of Griswold, Corning, Fontanelle and Guthrie Center, among others.

Iowa was already braced for severe weather after the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center gave most of the state a high chance of seeing severe thunderstorms with the potential for strong tornadoes. Des Moines public schools ended classes two hours early and canceled all evening activities ahead of the storms.

Adair County Free Press and Associated Press contributed to this story.