Weather takes another swipe at the area
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — Mother Nature leveled another haymaker at the area last Thursday just a few short weeks after some parts of Ringgold County recorded upwards of nine inches of rain according to local estimates. These totals were recorded in roughly 48 hours and remain unofficial.
This rain, along with tornado sightings and straight lines winds that topped 60 miles per hour left parts of the greater southwest Iowa area in ruins.
Corning, Iowa was hit particularly hard with damage with roofs torn off and many out buildings destroyed. Fast forward roughly 10 days and once again the heavens opened up and pounded the area.
Although this go around didn’t see quite as much damage inflicted on Mount Ayr, other communities were not so lucky. Nearby Arispe experienced power outages and many downed trees and power lines. To the west, areas just north of Clearfield were rocked by a storm that authorities are still trying to categorize.
According to Alliant energy, over 70 power line pole were torn down and destroyed. It would take several days to start repairs on all the damage. Power was out for several thousand customers.
Upon a visual inspection of the damage, one would be hard pressed to say that a tornado had not traveled through. Flooding was also an issue as the already water logged communities struggled to get out from under the deluge. Numerous basements and homes were flooded.
The governor’s office declared certain counties disaster zones freeing up funds to help effect repairs for those affected by these devastating storms.
Ringgold County Emergency Management has posted guidelines on its Facebook page to help direct those suffering from damage from these storms and where to seek relief. Reports are also trickling in that newly emerged crops suffered severe damage as a result of extremely large hail reports. In some locations, hail as large as four inches — or baseball size — has been reported.
June is historically the wettest month in Iowa with an average rainfall totals of approximately 4.5 inches. Some areas have more than doubled that average only half way through the month.
The city of Mount Ayr is already looking at upgrades to the water management systems throughout the town with several projects already under consideration. Anxious residents are keeping an eye toward the sky hoping for some extended relief in order to recover.
