April 25, 2024

Off the rails

Train cars blown off tracks in Clarke County

By AMY HANSEN

OST photo by AMY HANSEN Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad cars are blown off the tracks near Lacelle Road Sunday, May 17.

An early morning thunderstorm had enough force to blow off approximately 80 Burlington Northern Santa Fe train cars in Clarke County.

"It was here one minute and gone the next," said Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus.

What was thought to be a potential tornado touchdown is now appearing to be straight-line winds.

According to Allan Mathias with Clarke County Emergency Management, his last update from the National Weather Service showed a storm with straight-line winds of 60-70 miles per hour. The winds could have reached 75 miles per hour at one point.

The storm caused the damage between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17. Most of the damage is in the rural parts of the county, west of Osceola.

The empty train cars blew off the tracks near Lacelle Road.

According to BNSF officials, there were no reported injuries and no major financial losses in the accident. However, because of the mud the storm created, clean up is going to take many hours.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17, BNSF officials said a track would open soon for train traffic.

Inside the town limits, there was reported damage to trees and aluminum car ports.

No warnings

The severe thunderstorm appeared to take many people by surprise, and Duffus did say there was no weather warning issued.

It was confirmed there was no advanced notice from the National Weather Service for the Clarke County area.

That is one reason why the sirens didn't go off.

"It was just here and gone," Duffus said. "The meteorologist talked about how nobody saw this."

Another touchdown

According to the Des Moines Register, a tornado touched down in Ogden, in Boone County, between 3:52 and 4 a.m.

Duffus said the fast-moving storm could have gone from Clarke County up north to Ogden.

"I'm learning what a closed low is," Duffus said. "I've never heard of it."

According to the National Weather Service, the term usually is used to distinguish a low pressure area aloft from a low-pressure trough.

Duffus said officials from the weather service were scheduled to come Sunday, May 17, or Monday, May 18, to assess the damage.