A spring-like storm that hit without warning wreaked havoc in Humboldt Thursday night and drenched Iola with more than 4 inches of rain.
Humboldt’s business district sustained heavy damage from gale-force winds and heavy rains. Hundreds of limbs and some trees were felled.
While no official classification has been made that the storm contained a tornado, radar images did show a hook in the clouds — precursor of a tornado — and the swirling clouds appeared to have a circular pattern. In the northwest part of town the wind roared from the west and northwest; in the east part from the south.
Heaviest damage was to the home of Elvin and Earline Nelson and two downtown buildings.
A huge tree fell onto the Nelson’s garage, with some of the tree’s limbs striking the home’s roof.
Earline said they were home when the storm hit.
“We heard a couple of huge booms, so Elvin went to the kitchen to see what it was,” Earline said.
He had suspected it was the tree falling on their garage.
He was right.
“He was just turning around when another huge boom happened,” Earline said, as a portion of the tree broke into the home’s roof.”
The couple tried in vain to capture the water as it flowed into their house, but only briefly.
“We agreed it would probably be best that we just get out of there because we didn’t know what was coming next,” Earline said.
The Nelsons stayed at a relative’s house in Iola.
The garage, she said, was filled with assorted tools and other items, but as of Friday, they were unable to check because the tree was still perched precariously on top.
“There’s quite a bit of water damage in the house,” Earline added.
THE ROOF of Stacy Cakes, in the 110-year-old two-story Fussman building, gave way and water cascaded into the upstairs living quarters of Mark and Stacy Mueller, then found its way into the business arena on the first floor.
When the water began to pour into their apartment, the Muellers dashed downstairs and sequestered themselves in a bathroom. “We thought that would be the safest place,” Mark Mueller said.
