Storm’s Eye

Published by admin on Mon, 07/13/2020 - 9:34am

The 50th anniversary of tornados striking the area overshadowed a bit of Calmar’s history.

“During the late afternoon and early evening of May 15, 1968, five tornadoes (two F1s, one F2, and two F5s) occurred in Iowa,” according to information posted at the National Weather Service site. “These tornadoes were part of a widespread outbreak (39 tornadoes) which impacted ten states. In Iowa, the tornadoes caused 18 fatalities and 619 injuries. Since this outbreak, no other tornadoes have produced this many deaths or injuries in Iowa.”

The Fayette County community of Oelwein was among the locations hit, according to information posted on Facebook by the weather service’s La Crosse, Wis., office.

Read more in the May 22 edition of the Calmar Courier.