Strong winds, even funnel clouds, hit the area for another night

(Photo courtesy of Winneshiek County Emergency Management, from Julie Hougen)

For another day, severe weather struck Winneshiek County and the surrounding area on Wednesday.

The first report that came in was of hail in Fort Atkinson--an unwelcome sight--shortly after 3:30 p.m.  That was followed by a report around 4:00 p.m. of wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour northeast of Protivin in Winneshiek County.

But it was a storm front last night that raised the most concerns.  Shortly before 6:45 p.m. a trained weather spotter reported wind gusts of 70 miles an hour in Ridgeway and tree branches down.  That was followed by a report of trees down in Castalia.

Shortly after 7:00 p.m., Winneshiek County Emergency Management sent out a text message saying that a tornado was on the ground between Ridgeway and Bluffton, heading to Bluffton.  15 minutes later, an all clear was issued.

Winneshiek County Emergency Management is in the process of collecting information about storm damage.  In a sign of just how much severe weather has happened this week, its Facebook message reads: "Please report storm damages by emailing the address and a photo(s) to damage@co.winneshiek.ia.us.  Please indicate May 15th, May 16th or May 17th on the email."