A county fairgrounds and a fertilizer plant were damaged Monday afternoon when a reported tornado touched down near Charles City, Iowa. It was part of a series of possible tornadoes across Iowa and southeastern Minnesota.
The tornado was confirmed near the Floyd County Fairgrounds in Charles City at 12:33 p.m. Monday CDT, the National Weather Service office in La Crosse, Wisconsin, reported. The NWS later rated it an EF1, with maximum winds around 110 mph.
The Floyd County Ag Center was also damaged, KGAN reported.
At least seven buildings at the fairgrounds were damaged, Craig Anderson, a member of the fair board, told the Globe Gazette.
“We have a fair in two months,” Anderson said. “We won’t be able to get everything back to normal by then.”
The tornado was seen near Elma, Iowa, at 1:14 p.m., and it touched down north of Lime Springs, Iowa, at 1:50. At 2 p.m., the tornado was on the ground north of Carimona, Minnesota, the NWS reported.
A possible tornado destroyed a home in southeastern Iowa around the same time, according to KWWL. Fire officials said no one was home at the time and there were no injuries.
A tornado touched down in Fillmore County in southeastern Minnesota. The sheriff’s office said trees were down, according to KARE.
by Ron Brackett (2019, May 27) weather.com
