© KCCI-TV/KCCI.comStorm damage in New Sharon, Iowa, on Monday, June 20, 2011.
No one was injured in the early morning storm, but the weather that hit the small community in southern Iowa left a half mile path of damage behind.
The strength of this storm surprised everyone from residents to the National Weather Service. Sunday night they issued an alert, but only for winds up to 50 miles an hour. It was a shock to everyone when a tornado formed bringing winds up to 110 miles an hour.
"One of my tenants said, I hate to tell you but your 1971 Charger is in ditch and your building is across the road in the cemetery," says Terry Anderson, who owns a storage company in New Sharon.
It wasn't the wake up call Anderson wanted to hear. When he finally arrived at his company, he stumbled into a disaster area. The tornado winds were so strong, they sucked up the foundation of his building and carried 60 pound pieces of wood over one 100 yards away.
"We had no warning on this one. We usually get one if we have a severe thunderstorm coming at us, they give us warning to alert us and can decide if we want spotters out. This one we didn't have anything," says New Sharon Fire Chief Steve Gerard.
Gerard is used to cleaning up after storms. He just got back from Joplin, Missouri, and an EF-5 tornado. Gerard quickly organized crews to put back downed power lines in town and open up blocked roads. Then, he called the National Weather Service to explain what happened.
"It's not the classic big tornado you would see. It would be enhancing of wind speed around to the west in a small area," says Karl Jungbluth of the National Weather Service.
Jungbluth spent the morning taking pictures and measuring damage. After a few hours of careful study, he determines the tornado was 50 yards wide and a half mile long.
"If it was on the ground it was probably straight line winds on right hand side of any circulation. It was down very briefly," says Jungbluth.
The tornado was quick and it packed a punch. However, residents of New Sharon are trying to take a positive spin on Mother Nature's storm.
"Seeing a building torn up is a point where it's something you need to be concerned about but there was no loss of life and no injuries. Everything repairable and we're insured so we'll go from there," says Anderson.
The EF-1 tornado was just one mile an hour shy from being classified as an E-F 2 tornado. While residents say the storm was unexpected, no one was hurt or injured.
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