County Spared Major Storm Damage

Mills County took a hit during a powerful thunderstorm system that roared through the region early Saturday morning, but was spared some of the major property damage and power outages experienced by other communities in southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

The quick-moving storm that generated straight-line winds of up to 96 mph, equivalent to an EF-1 tornado or Category 2 hurricane, at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield reached Mills County shortly after midnight, dumping between 1.5 to 2 inches of rain in communities throughout the region.

Wind gusts between 60 and 80 mph were reported east of the Missouri River in Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont counties in southwest Iowa, according to published reports.

Gabe Barney, specialist at the Mills County Emergency Management Office, said Monday 360 households in Mills County lost power at the peak of the storm.

“This number continued to decline in the morning and we are currently back to 100 percent power in the county,” Barney reported. “The cause of the power outages was light-medium tree damage that fell on a few power lines across the county, but there was no need for heavy duty debris removal for the area.”

Property damage, as a result of the storm, was minimal, Barney added.

“Luckily, there was no property damage reported in the county as it seems that the storm was heaviest towards the metropolitan area northwest of Mills County.”

Downed tree limbs and power lines did create some temporary road closures Saturday morning on residential streets in Malvern. Tree damage was also visible outside several homes in Glenwood.