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Historic dust storm blows through Rock County, causes damage

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By
Lori Sorenson

Some weather experts called it a derecho, “a powerful windstorm extending more than 240 miles, with a line of quickly moving thunderstorms.”
Others said it was a haboob, an Arabic word to describe “a severe thunderstorm with powerful winds that cause dust blackouts.”
Regardless of its name, all eye-witness accounts were the same: A billowing wall of dust and debris rose from a blackened western sky, and damaging winds wreaked havoc on the ground.
It stretched for 500 miles from eastern Nebraska to northern Minnesota, barreling through Rock County around 5:15 traveling east at roughly 70 mph.
It downed trees, overturned vehicles and flattened buildings, scattering pieces of tin and shingles for miles across nearby tilled and planted fields.
And as quickly as it struck, it abruptly ended, with a smattering of rain and a temperature drop of more than 20 degrees.
Meteorologists say Thursday’s record heat (94 degrees in Sioux Falls) and humidity fueled the complex system that tore through five states.
It drew the attention of national media, including the New York Times, which on Friday quoted Adrian native Todd Heitkamp, who has been with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls for 35 years.
“We haven’t seen anything like this,” Heitkamp told the Times. “There was probably nothing that was more terrifying-looking than that because you knew what was going to hit the city of Sioux Falls.”
In Rock County and the tri-state area, there were numerous reports of semis and trucks blown over on roadways and property damage ranging from loose shingles and siding to toppled fences and structures.
A deputy noted a boat had landed in a field.
In Hills, neighbors helped each other clean up trees and branches after the storm. Brian Fick was among several property owners with tree damage, but he said he’s grateful the fallen limb missed his house.
East of Hills near Steen, livestock producer Matt Boeve lost a cattle shed in the storm and was rounding up an escaped steer after the dust settled.
“It’s not a big loss,” he said about the collapsed structure, “but if I’m going to get rid of a building, I’d rather not do it this way.”
 
Rock County ‘dodged a bullet’ Thursday
Rock County Emergency Management Director Kyle Oldre said the county made an emergency declaration to the state Friday in anticipation of possible storm damage from the Thursday afternoon and evening events.
Commissioners rescinded the declaration at their Tuesday morning meeting. Initial damage assessments from the small cities and townships were minimal.
Rock County was among as many as 45 counties who made local emergency declarations, mainly due to flooding, Oldre said.
“I think we dodged a bullet in Rock County, that’s for sure,” said commission chairman Jody Reisch. “We all saw the sky that night.”
Some public damage in the county was limited to the southern half.
The Rock County Rural Water System main pumping station received roof damage, and Magnolia Township’s equipment maintenance shed in Magnolia was flattened, snagging a powerline on the way down. Insurance is expected to pay for the repairs.
Oldre noted that local fire departments were busy helping motorists and, in the case of Magnolia, keeping the public away from the downed powerline.
“A lot of First Responders were out there in the middle of it and they did a great job,” he said.
 
Kanaranzi storm May 11
On Wednesday night, another severe thunderstorm clipped the southern part of Rock County damaging property in Kanaranzi.
A detached garage at the home of Meranda and John Kramer was destroyed when a large tree fell on it.
According to Meranda’s mother, Missy Fick, the vehicles inside received minor damage, but everything else inside was totaled. The garage will need to be torn down.
She said when Mike Davis came out to remove the tree, he remarked that it appeared to have been a tornado. “He said it was a hard tree with a good root system,” said Fick, who lived at the property for 25 years before her daughter and husband moved there.

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