Tornado damages three Iowa counties
Kelly Goodwin sifted through the rubble of what used to be her kitchen, dazed after a tornado ripped through the area Friday and left this eastern Iowa town in disarray.
Just hours earlier, she was spending an uneventful afternoon in her home when she heard the wind howl outside. She glanced out the window, saw a tree rip from the ground and hurried to the basement.
“When I came back up I saw all this,” she said, waving her arms at the wreckage.
Similar scenes of destruction were seen across Muscatine County and surrounding areas, where a tornado tore through businesses and homes, knocking down trees and power lines but causing only minor injuries. Rain also poured across the region, causing flooding and several traffic accidents, including one fatal wreck.
The tornado, with winds of about 140 mph, struck the town of Grandview about 12:15 p.m., went north through Fruitland and dissipated in the Muscatine area about 10 minutes later, said Jeff Zogg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa.
Gov. Chet Culver declared a disaster emergency for Jackson, Louisa and Muscatine counties.
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