Cities begin cleanup as some still without power after Des Moines, Urbandale tornado

A round of severe weather, including at least one tornado, pushed through the Des Moines metro area during rush hour on Monday.

Severe weather threats continued across the state and severe storms battered the Quad Cities area, leaving tens of thousands without power there.

Follow more updates as Iowans continue to clean up and assess damage on Tuesday.

Des Moines announces cleanup plan for neighborhoods and Glendale Cemetery

According to a city news release, people can report downed trees blocking roads at DSM.city/Report , with the myDSMmobile app available at desmoinesia.citysourced.com/ or by phone 24/7 at 515-283-4950. City forestry crews will remove damaged city-owned trees in the coming weeks but privately-owned trees will need to be removed and hauled away by a private contractor.

The city is also doing a free curbside storm debris collection for residents in an identified area that was most affected. Residents in the area — outlined in a map below — were instructed to begin moving storm debris to their curb this week, while not blocking sidewalks or roadways. Debris must be less than 18 inches in diameter and less than 10 inches long, and must be cut before it can be collected.

There was also significant tree damage at Glendale Cemetery and the cemetery is closed to the public while crews continue to assess the damage and take care of any hazards. Visitors and volunteers are asked to only enter the cemetery once the work is complete. The cemetery is anticipated to open again on Thursday, July 18. When the conditions allow for volunteers to safely enter the cemetery, opportunities to help with clean-up will be posted at DSM.city/Volunteer .

Last tornado to hit Urbandale was 34 years ago

Based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s storm events database, the last time a tornado touched down in Urbandale was on June 6, 1990. It was an EF0 that was 17 yards long. It touched down just off Douglas Avenue and only lasted one minute. There were no fatalities or injuries and $250 in property damage.

The NOAA Database lists the last tornado in Des Moines as on April 26. It was an EF2, 150 yards wide. The tornado touched down northwest of Easter Lake and traveled northeast, finally dissipating on the far south of Altoona. Initial damage reports were for trees and fences, but the tornado strengthened as it traveled, eventually causing widespread roof and wall damage in Pleasant Hill . In total, there was $1.5 million in property damage, and a single non-life-threatening injury.

One injury reported in Urbandale from storm cleanup

Urbandale spokesperson Derek Zarn confirmed there had been one reported injury to a person’s leg, likely from cleanup efforts.

No injures were reported from the storm itself, which the National Weather Service classified as an EF1 tornado that started in Urbandale and traveled 7 miles to Windsor Heights and Des Moines.

Urbandale cleanup will begin 'immediately'

The city of Urbandale says its library, 3520 86th St., is open for anyone without power to charge devices, use the internet and cool off in the AC.

It also released instructions for debris removal:

• Storm debris collection will begin immediately. Place all debris at the curb by the end of the day on Sunday.
• Separate tree debris from other debris (such as shingles, siding, and fencing). Mixed debris will not be collected.
• If you live east of 86th Street and south of Douglas Avenue, there is no need to confirm debris collection. Crews will be driving through and checking this area regularly to pick up debris as needed. However, if you live west of 86th Street or north of Douglas Avenue, please call or email to request storm debris collection: engpw@urbandale.org or 515-278-3950.
• Branches should not exceed 18 inches in diameter or 12 feet in length. They should be placed parallel to the curb and should not block fire hydrants, mailboxes, utilities, or any other item in the right-of-way which could be damaged by equipment during the collection.
• Private contractors are required to haul away any tree debris that is a result of their work.

Windsor Heights will cleanup northeast side of city

Windsor Heights city clerk Adam Strait said in an email that no injuries had been reported in the city but the storm caused severe damage to trees in the northeast corner of Windsor Heights and damaged homes and power and communication wires, knocking out electricity and internet service.

Some homes were still without either as of about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The city's phone lines also went down due to storm damage. He did not have an estimate of when service would be restored.

City public works teams were continuing to clear debris from streets. Strait added that there will be a special cleanup for the northeast part of the city, which includes the area inside a square with Hickman Road to the north, 63rd Street to the east, 69th Street to the west, and Washington Avenue to the south.

Debris must be a maximum of 6 feet in length and 16 inches in diameter and be placed on the curb by 8 a.m. Monday.

More information on cleanup guidelines is available at windsorheights.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1006 .

Derecho spawned tornado in Des Moines

The severe storms that Iowa and other Midwestern states saw on July 15 was a derecho. The derecho formed in the Des Moines area before moving eastward, said meteorologist Jesse Castillo with National Weather Service Des Moines. A severe weather event may be considered a derecho if the swatch of wind damage extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater along a majority of its length, according to NWS .

Read more: What is a derecho? Storms that hit Iowa, Midwest on Monday were part of one.

Officials still assessing full scope of damage

Cameron Stufflebeam, program assistant with Polk County Emergency Management, said Tuesday morning that damage assessments were not yet complete, but the areas most affected by the storm had been "Urbandale, a little bit of Windsor Heights and into Des Moines."

Stufflebeam said there had been a lot of fallen trees, including trees that fell on houses, and there had also been some structural damage from the wind.

He said each individual city would release its cleanup plans but people could also check for updates at polkcountyiowa.gov/emergency-management/recent-disaster-information/ .

Roosevelt High School sees downed trees

Des Moines Public Schools' spokesperson Phil Roeder said Tuesday morning that damage on district grounds is primarily limited to fallen trees.

Most of the cleanup at Roosevelt High School had been done as of Tuesday morning by district operations staff — with the assistance of some student athletes there for summer workouts who had helped carry away smaller branches, Roeder said. An awning over some bleachers at Roosevelt High School's softball and baseball fields had partially blown loose, as had a fence screen in the outfield, but games would resume tonight, he said.

"So far, we’ve not had any real building damage, fortunately," Roeder said.

Cowles Montessori School in Windsor Heights did not have electricity so its summer school program had been temporarily moved to Windsor Elementary School in Des Moines. Greenwood Elementary School in Des Moines also did not have power but Roeder said there was no summer program there.

At least 10 homes hit in Urbandale

Urbandale spokesperson Derek Zarn said Tuesday morning that initial assessments Monday night showed more than 10 homes in the city had been damaged and some of those homes had "significant damage." Most of it was concentrated around 70th Street south of Douglas Avenue, though some outlying areas may also have been affected.

Zarn said further assessments in daylight might turn up more damage.

"We won’t have the exact number for a little bit yet," he said.

Zarn added that there may have been one reported injury but did not immediately know if it was caused by the storm or was related to the cleanup.

Storm that hit Des Moines traveled to Chicago

National Weather Service Des Moines officials told the Register they believe the storm system that passed through central Iowa was associated with the same system that tore through Chicago.

NWS Chicago issued 13 tornado warnings in the Chicago area on Monday night. As of early Tuesday morning, seven tornadoes in the area had been confirmed . WGN9 reported there were many downed trees and homes damaged, leaving thousands without power and some major roads closed due to debris or downed power lines.

'True spirit of our city'

The city of Des Moines posted on its Facebook that the "true spirit of our city" was on display last night as neighbors began helping each other clear storm debris immediately after an apparent tornado hit the northwest side of the metro.

It's working on a clean-up plan for Des Moines residents and expects to share that information later.

Urbandale city officials also said in a news release it will provide information on debris removal later. They asked residents to keep vegetative debris and construction debris separated at the curb for easier collection.

MidAmerican Energy power outages down to 1,400 in Des Moines and 17,000 in the Quad Cities

Many Des Moines metro residents are waking up to find their power restored on Tuesday morning. MidAmerican Energy Company reports about 1,400 outages mostly in Urbandale and Des Moines.

A spokesperson told the Register on Monday night that it hoped to have most power restored by Tuesday morning, but that some repairs could take until Tuesday evening.

Power has been restored for all but about 8,300 customers on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities and 8,600 customers in Illinois, according to MidAmerican's outage reports. At one point, more than 70,000 customers were without power.

More: How long is food good in a fridge without power? Safety tips to get you through an outage

National Weather Service timeline shows storms, tornado moving across Iowa on Monday

Storms started as early as 2 p.m. Monday in Iowa with severe weather reported along U.S. Highway 30 from Denison to Boone.

Hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter, sometimes referred to as gorilla hail, was reported by 3 p.m. in Veil and large hail was also reported near Trear.

Severe weather hit the Des Moines metro area just in time for rush hour, including at least one tornado. Extensive tree and power line damage has been reported.

The National Weather Service will be out in the Des Moines metro conducting storm surveys on Tuesday. It expects to have preliminary information, including possible tornado ratings by Tuesday evening .

Power could be out until Tuesday evening for some Des Moines metro residents

More than 10,000 homes will stay dark Monday night in the Des Moines metro area. MidAmerican Energy Company has the most significant damage in areas around Windsor Heights, Urbandale and the west side of Des Moines, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesperson for the company. More than 4,500 households in those cities are without power along with 4,500 in Des Moines.

MidAmerican expects to have power restored to most customers by 7 a.m. Tuesday, but some customers could remain without power until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Greenwood said.

NWS confirms tornado touched down in Urbandale

According to the National Weather Service, at least one tornado was confirmed to have touched down in the Urbandale area Monday evening. Specifics on Monday's severe weather, including the extent of the damage, will be available following storm surveys on Tuesday.

Fallen tree crushes front of Urbandale home

There were numerous trees down in the neighborhood along 72nd Street north of Hickman in Urbandale following severe storms Monday evening.

On Oak Brook Drive, most of a tree had fallen and crushed the front of Bill Engelbrecht’s home of about 12 years. Engelbrecht said it all happened fast, but he hadn’t even heard the tree fall.

He had just returned from getting groceries when the storm hit, although the pint of birthday cake-flavored ice cream he was enjoying came from his neighbors across the street.

Des Moines residents sip wine while assessing storm damage

Nearly every house on 59th Street in the Merle Hay neighborhood saw some storm damage Monday evening. Windows shattered, entire trees down. Residents wander up and down the street, comparing damage and chatting with wine glasses in hand.

Alex Colby, who paid off her car two weeks ago, saw her car windows broken and the roof cleaved down the middle by a tree. Across the street, Emily McGuire and Jonathan Diffley have multiple lines down in their backyard.

It’s a nice home warming party. The couple just moved in in January.

“The fun part about all of this, is that this is a very interesting way to meet your neighbors,” McGuire said, gesturing to the unofficial block party. “Everybody out here today, we met because of the storm.”

Simon Goheen, of nearby Simon’s restaurant, is responsible for the alcohol. He was already handing out wine to the restaurant's neighbors less than an hour after the storm rolled through. It wasn't his first course of action after the tornado sirens went off, but it was his “75 thought.”

The restaurant was packed, and guests were allowed to shelter in place until they felt ready to leave — with or without settling their tab.

They can pay whenever, he said.

“What’s important is that everybody’s ok,” he said.

Traffic lights out in Windsor Heights

Hickman Road east of 70th Street in Windsor Heights has been blocked off by the Windsor Heights Fire Department due to traffic lights being out. As of 7:10 p.m., 70th Street north of Hickman has also been blocked.

Des Moines City Council meeting postponed

Monday night's Des Moines City Council meeting was postponed until next week due to the tornado warning.

Dozens of people were gathered in the council chambers at Des Moines City Hall when an emergency alert blared from cell phones in the room. City council members voted to adjourn the meeting around 5:40 p.m., and city staff members ushered attendees to the basement to take shelter. Most of the public stayed until the tornado warning ended at 6:15 p.m.

City council members ran through about 90% of the agenda, including items approved on consent, routine and non-controversial items that are considered in bulk. Before the warning, speakers were taking the podium to address the request to rezone a property at 1301 Kenyon Ave. , which could convert a former children's group home into affordable housing for recently homeless men.

Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders announced the council meeting will resume July 22 at 7:30 a.m.

Damage reports centered on northwest Des Moines, no injuries reported yet

Des Moines Police said in a tweet that damage reports were coming in from the northwest side of Des Moines. While there were no injuries as of 6:12 p.m., in the 6200 block of Hickman Road there were multiple snapped utility lines, and at the intersection of 56th and 58th streets there were downed wires.

They also reported fallen trees and wires from Hickman Road south to Franklin Avenue, and non-functioning traffic signals at the intersection 63rd Street and Hickman Road as well the intersection of Westover Boulevard and Hickman Road.

Power outages hit 10,000 in Des Moines after storms

MidAmerican Energy reports 10,203 customers in the Des Moines metro area are without power after storms passed through the area.

The outages are largely focused in Des Moines, where 5,900 are without power, and Urbandale with 2,800 outages.

Tornado warning expires in Des Moines metro

A tornado warning for the Des Moines metro area has expired as severe storms move to the east.

Severe thunderstorm warnings are in effect, as of 6:12 p.m, for areas to the east of the Des Moines metro.

Any official tornado confirmations and ratings will occur after storms exit the state and NWS crews are able to conduct storm surveys.

Dangerous tornado confirmed in Des Moines area

As of 5:53 p.m., radar indicated rotation was reported with a storm near Des Moines and moving toward Pleasant Hill and Carlisle. The tornado warning continues for Polk and Warren counties until 6:15 p.m.

A NWS warning described the storm as "dangerous" and said flying debris will pose a danger to people outside.

Tornado sighting reported in Windsor Heights, Grimes

A tornado was reported by a Polk County sheriff's deputy around 5:38 p.m. near Grimes. Another spotting was reported by a NWS employee near Windsor Heights around 5:43 p.m.

Des Moines City Council meeting interrupted by tornado warning

A Des Moines City Council meeting adjourned Monday evening as warning sirens sounded, with participants gathering in a basement shelter at City Hall.

'Large and extremely dangerous tornado' initially reported near Drake Stadium

At 5:47 p.m., NWS confirmed a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado located over Drake Stadium in near Des Moines.

At 5:48 p.m., NWS confirmed a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado was located near the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines moving southeast at 30 mph.

NWS urges residents to take cover.

Severe thunderstorm watch issued for large portions of central and eastern Iowa

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for a large portion of Iowa, western Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin until 11 p.m. Monday.

The watch, which includes the Des Moines metro area, warns of the risk of widespread wind gusts up to 85 mph. Tennis ball-sized hail, sometimes referred to as gorilla hail , is also possible and so are a couple of tornadoes.

What does the Iowa weather radar show?

Here's a look at the current radar loop from the National Weather Service in Des Moines:

What is the Iowa severe weather outlook today?

Storms could be especially severe and damaging in far eastern Iowa. An area covering Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities is at a moderate (level 4 on a 5-point scale) risk tonight.

Storms are possible in northwest Iowa to start the day, but they are expected to weaken as they approach the state. That system is causing some uncertainty about exactly where and when storms will develop this afternoon.

Numerous severe storms will be possible in Iowa, with a primary threat of damaging winds and secondary threats of small hail and possible tornadoes.

Where are excessive heat warnings and heat advisories in Iowa?

NWS warns folks to take breaks on Monday in the shade or air conditioning, dangerous heat remains over the state. Areas in far southwest Iowa is under a heat warning, and much of central, southern and eastern portions of the state are under a heat advisory.

The heat advisory is in effect from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, with heat index values of 100 to 110 degrees expected.

Des Moines is expected to have a high of 97 degrees with the heat index reaching 107 degrees.

How to stay safe during extreme heat in Iowa

The National Weather Service says that excessive heat can be taxing to the body and cause various heat-related illnesses. Here are tips from NWS on how to stay safe during a heat wave:

Outdoor Activities

• Reduce, eliminate or reschedule strenuous activities until the coolest time of the day. Those particularly vulnerable to heat such as children, infants, older adults, those with chronic medical conditions and those pregnant should stay in the coolest available place.
• Dress for summer. Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing to reflect heat and sunlight.
• Minimize direct exposure to the sun. Sunburn reduces your body's ability to dissipate heat.

Eating and Drinking

• Eat light, cool, easy-to-digest foods such as fruit or salads. If you pack food, put it in a cooler or carry an ice pack. Don't leave it sitting in the sun. Meats and dairy products can spoil quickly in hot weather.
• Drink plenty of water, non-alcoholic and decaffeinated fluids, even if you don't feel thirsty.

Cooling Down

• Use air conditioners or spend time in air-conditioned locations such as malls and libraries.
• Use portable fans to exhaust hot air from rooms or draw in cooler air.
• Do not direct the flow of portable electric fans toward yourself when room temperature is hotter than 90°F. The dry blowing air will dehydrate you faster, endangering your health.
• Take a cool bath or shower.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaReynaR .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cities begin cleanup as some still without power after Des Moines, Urbandale tornado