JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) - A tornado briefly touched down Monday evening in the Des Moines suburb of Johnston, uprooting trees and damaging traffic signals.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado Tuesday and noted that another severe storm caused a 67 mph wind gust in Newton, east of Des Moines.
The wind just picked up and the next thing I know, the trees fall,” Richard Depenning of Johnston told KCCI. “We were standing right there and 15 to 20 seconds later, it was gone.”
In eastern Iowa, high winds Monday night near Luxemburg lifted the roof off a barn and crashed it into another building, causing it to collapse onto a hog nursery building. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the nursery building then caught on fire, killing 300 hogs inside.
The Weather Service said more severe weather is expected Tuesday with thunderstorms, heavy rain and a chance of tornadoes. The rain could lead to localized flooding.
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