(Spirit Lake)– Hurricane force winds wreaked havoc on the Iowa Great Lakes area Sunday, bringing down trees, power lines and causing some structural damage.
Winds gusting in excess of 60 miles-per-hour blasted the region for several hours. A peak gust of 72 miles-per-hour occurred at the KUOO studios shortly after 2:00 p.m. The winds weren’t associated with thunderstorms. They were the result of a strong spring storm system that did spawn severe weather well to the south of the region.
A large tree was uprooted at the intersection of Highway 276 and Peoria Avenue in Orleans…blocking traffic in that area for a couple of hours. Awnings were blown off businesses in downtown Spirit Lake; a window was blown out of a business in downtown Milford; and a tree toppled onto a trailer house in Arnolds Park. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
Numerous docks and boat hoists were damaged or destroyed. Crandall’s Beach on the northwest side of Big Spirit Lake was especially hard hit.
Many areas experienced power outages. The entire town of Milford was out for a little while as Corn Belt Power experienced problems with some of its transmission lines.
The storm system also brought a wind-driven rain with it. Nearly an inch fell in most locations.
