Tornadoes Rip Through Midwest. One Dead in Iowa, Stadium Evacuated

The Fall Storm season has created havoc throughout the Midwest, being responsible for the death of one person in Iowa, and destruction of many homes and towns last night.

Tornadoes swept across central Iowa on Saturday, ripping up farms, destroying homes in several towns and sending college football fans running from a stadium for shelter.

At least one person was killed in the storm, two others were hospitalized, and a gas leak forced authorities to evacuated part of Stratford, a town of about 746 residents 50 miles northwest of Des Moines.

“Half the town’s gone,” said Bob Smith, who has lived in Stratford for 12 years. He said he ran from his camper as the tornado touched down.

Search teams later found the body of another Stratford resident, Lucille Runyan, 80. Her daughter-in-law said Runyan’s son had been with the team that discovered her. Another woman was pulled alive from the rubble, searcher Scott Bergman said. Authorities said at least two dozen homes in the town were destroyed.

In Woodward, 30 miles to the south, 20 to 40 homes were severely damaged, Dallas County Sheriff Brian Gilbert. He said emergency crews had searched house-to-house and hadn’t found any victims by evening. via AP

Meanwhile, Iowa State’s football stadium, where ironically the team is named the Cyclones, had to be evacuated an hour before the start of a game against Colorado.

Tornado sirens forced officials to clear the stands, press box and suites at Iowa State’s Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, about an hour before the scheduled start of the Cyclones’ game with No. 22 Colorado.

An Ames police dispatcher said there were reports of a tornado in the northwest part of the city and twisters damaged houses and farm buildings in areas south, west and north of the city. But the area around the stadium had nothing but dark skies and gusty winds and fans did not seem worried.via ESPN