Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer recaps driving through storms and tornadoes in southern Iowa on April 17.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We're glad you made it out safe.
00:01Of course you know exactly what you're doing out there
00:03and where to stay safe, but also get some of the best views.
00:06You're in Des Moines this morning
00:07and I hear it's a bit chilly out there now.
00:10Yeah, it definitely is cold behind the system.
00:12And we woke up here yesterday to begin the chase
00:15and there was already a tornado yesterday morning
00:17just to the north of Des Moines.
00:19And that was a sign that the wind shear
00:20was definitely extreme with that warm front lifting in
00:23to Southern Iowa yesterday.
00:25And that began definitely a multifaceted outbreak
00:28where we actually intercepted that tornado
00:30with the Dominator 3 here.
00:32When you were able to look at maybe some of the damage,
00:34what are we thinking already preliminary
00:35for some of the ratings of these tornadoes?
00:38Well, I certainly think the tornado near New London
00:41and Southeastern Iowa, that's the one that we intercepted.
00:44And that one I believe was a strong tornado.
00:46The winds were certainly over about 120 miles an hour,
00:49especially when it fully planted just off to our east.
00:52Thankfully we intercepted that tornado right when it formed
00:55and it formed as a pretty large circulation
00:57multiple vortex and you saw that it did some damage
01:00to that barn and a couple of silos
01:02and also some farmsteads here at the New London area.
01:06So I definitely do think that was a strong tornado,
01:08especially when it was at peak intensity,
01:10when it was fully condensed.
01:12But I would say at least an EF2,
01:14maybe even stronger than that.
01:16All right, Reid, we always like to dig in
01:18to just see what a day in the life is for you.
01:20We appreciate you being out there
01:21and sending us some of that incredible footage back.
01:24And we hope that everyone in your home state is safe today
01:26and you stay safe as you continue to chase later this week.