One dead, one injured in possible tornado in western Iowa

ADAIR, Iowa., (WOI) – One person is confirmed dead following a potential tornado that struck the southeast part of Adair Tuesday night.  This happened near 110th Street and Elk Avenue in Adair, south of Interstate 80.

74-year-old Linda Lee Brownlee died after a storm ripped through her home. Her husband, 78-year-old Harold Brownlee, was taken by air ambulance to a Des Moines hospital with severe injuries.

Adair Emergency Manager Bob Kempf says the storm started in southeast Adair, traveling at least two miles north up Elk Avenue, damaging at least three homes, along with several outbuildings and trees.

“We have a lot of debris that ended up landing on the Interstate, that’s all been cleaned up, the Interstate is open in both directions, all lanes, and then went on north of the Interstate for about a half a mile,” Kempf said.

The National Weather Service will be out to assess the damage to determine whether it was a tornado or straight-line winds that caused the damage.