Iowa man dies after being trapped in basement during Minden tornado
The death in Iowa brings the death toll from the dayslong severe weather outbreak to at least 5, with four of those happening in Oklahoma.
See the tornado that FOX Weather meteorologist called, 'biggest wedge tornado I have ever seen.'
FOX Weather's Nick Kosir said, "That is the biggest wedge tornado I have ever seen." "When I first saw this video, I though this was a shelf cloud coming down and then I realized the whole thing was rotating and that was an entire tornado."
MINDEN, Iowa – An Iowa man died Saturday from injuries sustained during Friday's tornado outbreak, the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department confirmed Sunday.
The man was trapped in his basement after a massive wedge tornado swept through the town of Minden, his family member told local media. First responders were able to free him and rushed him to a hospital late Friday. Media reports listed him as stable, but he succumbed to his injuries Saturday night.
VIOLENT, WEDGE-SHAPED TORNADO SLAMS RURAL COMMUNITIES IN IOWA: ‘PRAYED EVERYTHING WOULD BE OK’
Iowa town decimated by tornado
FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell visited decimated Minden, Iowa, the day after a tornado tore through the town. She talks to residents Sherri Guerrero and Randy Davis about how they survived. Governor Kim Reynolds explains that Mayor Ken Zimmerman was a survivor as well.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster emergency proclamation for Minden, a town of just under 600 residents. She said that about 180 homes were damaged, and 40% of those were destroyed.
One man's house was blown about 20 feet off its foundation, but he told FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell that he was lucky because he wasn't at home when the twister struck his two-story home.
"It's kind of crazy. I'm trying to stay in good spirits with it, you know? It's one of those things that you can only do so much. It wasn't where I left it," homeowner Randy Davis said, trying to keep his sense of humor. "I got a lot of support, though. A lot of my friends are helping out."
OMAHA AIRPORT TAKES SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE FROM EF-2 TORNADO
Damage left behind after a tornado swept through Minden, Iowa on April 26, 2024. Take a look at the brick in front of the home. It surrounds the basement and foundation left behind.
(Brandy Campbell / FOX Weather)
So many volunteers flocked to the town on Saturday that authorities had to turn some of them away. The mayor said the town had not seen that violent a tornado in almost 50 years.
Killer tornadoes in Oklahoma Saturday
Tornadoes broke out again on Friday across Oklahoma. Two people died in Holdenville, including an infant, according to FOX 25 Oklahoma City. Another person died in Marietta and another in Sulphur, the state's governor said in a press conference. That brings the weekend's death toll to five from the April tornadoes.
DRONE VIDEO SHOWS SULPHUR, OKLAHOMA, NEARLY UNRECOGNIZABLE AFTER DIRECT HIT FROM TORNADO
Damages to the Mix Mercantile business in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
(Christy Morris/The Mix Mercantile / FOX Weather)
The National Weather Service issued more than 80 Tornado Warnings on Friday and Saturday. The Omaha office issued 42 on Friday alone, which was a record for a single day. May 12, 2023, was the previous record with 33 warnings. The NWS in Norman also issued a record 59 Tornado Warnings on Saturday. That blew away the previous record of 47 from May 3, 1999.