Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 16:56:11 -0500
From: John McLaughlin
An aerial survey of storm damage was conducted by helicopter with two media
meteorologists. A path was flow from Cambridge, IA in Story county,
eastward to Ferguson, IA in Marshall County.
Damage in southern Story county appeared to have been caused by straight
line winds. There was no sign of convergent damage paths in the corn or in
areas where trees had been knocked down. Damage was consistent with winds of
60-70 miles per hour, with isolated 80 mile per hour estimated near the
Story-Marshall County border near Rhodes, Iowa where trees were snapped
above ground, rather than pushed over. All debris and crop damage was
oriented in a west to east heading. Winds were strong enough to push a
crumpled grain bin more than 100 yards into a field on the north side of
Collins.
Beginning one mile south a Melbourne, IA in Marshall Co and extending
sporadically to three miles east, there is evidence of small circulations
with brief ground contact. We believe this was caused by small tornadoes.
Two locations were observed to have ground tracks oriented from SW to NE,
and one from S to N, each with a length of 1/4 mile or less. All three of
these tornadoes were less than 30 yards in width. Two were of minimal F1
strength and the third would be rated F0. Two of the tornadoes tracked
through groves of mature trees, snapping the trees off near the base (F1).
No homes of structures were hit. The third tornado began in a farm field 3
miles SE of Melbourne and blew a poorly constructed storage building apart
and scatted debris across the road to the north (F0). A home lost several
shingles but sustained no significant damage. No evidence of ground
contact was observed from Haverhill to Ferguson. There continued to be tree
and crop damage from straight line winds of 60-70 miles per hour.
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