Iowa weather: More than 400,000 Iowans still without power Tuesday morning

6:50 a.m.: More than 400,000 Iowans remain without power Tuesday morning, following strong storms that moved across the state Monday. According to PowerOutage.us, there were nearly 405,000 people in Iowa without power shortly before 6:30 a.m., mostly in a line that cut across the state's midsection. Hardest hit was Linn County, where 108,353 out 112,097 customers were without power Tuesday. Also see large numbers of outages was Polk County, with about 80,000 without power. Alliant Energy was reporting nearly 210,000 customers without power, while MidAmerican Energy had about 154,000 powerless customers.

Monday updates

7:40 p.m.: At least a dozen tractor-tailors have overturned on Iowa's interstates. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla confirmed with the Register 10 tractor-trailers overturned due to strong winds on Interstate Highway 35, from Highway 30 to Ankeny. No major injuries have been reported.

Five tractor-trailers remain in the ditch on I-35, Dinkla added. Northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 35 were shut down for several hours at the 98 mile marker for a tractor-trailer carrying 850 pigs overturned, however Dinkla told the Register the interstate is now open. 

5:45 p.m.: MidAmerican Energy acknowledged technical issues with their phone lines and difficulties for costumers reporting report outages after Monday's storms. Tina Hoffman of MidAmerican told the Register she doesn’t know the exact cause of the issues, but suggested a heavy volume of calls may be one contributing factor of many. 

To remedy these issues, MidAmerican said it increased phone line capacities; outages can also be reported on the MidAmerican website and social media. 

4:25 p.m.: Several people were injured and widespread property damage was reported in Marshall County in central Iowa after 100 mph winds swept through the area, said its homeland security coordinator Kim Elder.

She said the winds blew over trees, ripped road signs out of the ground and tore roofs off of buildings.

“We had quite a few people trapped in buildings and cars,” she said. She said the extent of injuries is unknown and that no fatalities have been reported.

Elder said some people reported their cars flipping over from the wind, having power lines fall on them and getting injured when hit by flying debris. Dozens of cars at one factory had their windshields blown out. Buildings have also caught on fire, she said.

— Associated Press

4:20 p.m.: Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer declared a civil emergency, telling residents to stay home and off the streets so that first responder can respond to calls.

— Associated Press

4:05 p.m.: Monday's storm ripped through central Iowa mid-morning, leaving more than 400,000 without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

MidAmerican Energy is reporting more than 131,000 customers in central Iowa without power, and nearly 200,000 across the state. 

Alliant Energy was reporting more than 234,000 customers without power at the same time.

"It's one of the worst storms we've seen in terms of total number of customers impacted," MidAmerican Energy spokesperson Tina Hoffman said.

More:What is a derecho, anyway?

4 p.m.: There were several reports of wind gusts exceeding 100 mph in Iowa, including a gust of 112 mph in Midway, a small unincorporated town in Linn County, the Weather Channel said.

3:30 p.m.: Mark Licht, who lives north of Ames, emerged from his basement Monday to find his machine shed destroyed. “We have tin easily a half mile away,” said Licht about losing his shed’s steel roof.

And Licht’s 6,000-pound travel trailer camper blew into a vehicle, one of three inside the shed that collapsed. Trees and branches were downed. “This is why we have insurance,” said Licht, an Iowa State University crop specialist.

High winds flattened corn and soybean fields around his home, Licht said. He’s unsure if the corn plants were pulled out by the roots. Licht said the soybeans look like they’re recovering, standing back up.

“I don’t know how much rain we got. My rain gauge is gone,” said Licht, who plans to unearth his tractor to see if he can begin moving machine shed debris.

Alicia Heun, a spokeswoman for Landus Cooperative, with 60 locations in Iowa and Minnesota, said the storm damaged a large conveyor between large bins in Bondurant, and hit a small grain storage bin in Collins but no other major damage has been reported.

— Donnelle Eller

1:25 p.m. Almost 125,000 Iowans are without power Monday after strong storms rolled through late-Monday morning and early Monday afternoon.

More than 104,000 Mid-American Energy customers were without power, according to the utility. Almost 21,000 Alliant Energy customers were also without power, according to Alliant Energy. 

Monday's derecho, which comes from the Spanish word for straight or direct, was not the first derecho to hit the state. In 2011 a derecho knocked out power to more than 24,000 Iowans and caused $5 million in damage. 

12:45 p.m. More than 86,000 Iowans are without power after storms rolled through Des Moines late Monday morning and early Monday afternoon. 

Buccaneer Arena in Urbandale also had its roof partially-ripped off. 

12:30 p.m.The number of central Iowans with power knocked out by Monday's Derecho continues to grow. More than 81,000 Iowans are now without power, according to Mid-American Energy.

More than 50,000 people just in the metro area were without power, according to Mid-American Energy. 

By 12:30 p.m. the storms began to move out of the Des Moines metro area and into eastern Iowa. 

12:15 p.m. Wind gusts of 99 mph were recorded at the Marshalltown ariport, National Weather Service Roger Vachalek said.

The highest wind gusts in the Des Moines metro area were 75 mph at the Des Moines International Airport, Vachalek said. 

The storm forced motorists to dodge falling trees and traffic signs along Southeast 14th, where several lay in the middle of the road from University Avenue heading north. A front door at the FedEx Ship Center at  700 SW 9th St. was ripped off by the storm. Trees and power lines were also down in countless places across the metro area. 

NWS Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge said winds caused heavy damage near 63 Street and Hickman Road. 

Storms raced from western Iowa to central Iowa at 55 mph, according to KCCI. Vachalek said Tuesday's storm were a phenomenon known as a derecho, a widespread long-lasting storm windstorm in the shape of a bow. Derechos are associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms in squall lines, according to the NWS. 

Wind gusts even on the back side of the storm were 55 to 60 mph, Vachalek said. 

"Obviously the watch word for today is if you're still ahead of the storm, seek shelter," Vachalek said. 

More than 61,000 Mid-American Energy customers were without power at 12:15 p.m.

Rain gauges at the Des Moines International Airport malfunctioned during the storm, Vachalek said. He did not know how much rain fell. 

11:44 a.m. More than 30,000 people are without power in Central Iowa. Trees are knocked down across the area as the storm moves east towards Grinnell and Pella.

11:20 a.m. More than 26,000 Mid-American Energy customers are now without power in Iowa. 

Parts of Urbandale sustained strong wind damage, according to reports. Buccaneer Arena where the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers play sustained damage to its roof, according to WHO HD-TV. 

Tornado sirens sounded for the sixth time in Waukee this morning. 

Update, 11 a.m.: Severe thunderstorms rolled into the Des Moines metro area just before 11 a.m. 

Winds were as high as 80 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Des Moines and a severe thunderstorm warning for central Iowa counties was extended to all of Polk County. Skies darkened severely as well. 

Nearly 10,000 Mid-American Energy customers were without power. 

A semi was reported to have rolled over in Boone County. Tornado Sirens went off five times in Waukee. Numerous reports of trees, polls and other storm damage was reported. 

Winds are so high people are coming to a complete stop on interstates, police said.

Share your pictures

As you see pictures of damage, you can share them with us. Just hit the upload button below. (Please stay safe. Do not venture into dangerous areas or take unnecessary risks to take a photo or video).

Previously:

Severe storms are bringing rain to areas west-central Iowa areas in extreme droughts Monday, but the storms will also bring severe weather to the Des Moines metro area. 

Severe thunderstorms warnings were issued Monday morning for western Iowa areas including Guthrie County Guthrie and a dozen neighboring counties entered extreme droughts last week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Severe thunderstorm warnings were also issued for Carroll and Audubon counties, according to the National Weather Service in Des Moines. Severe storms will likely reach the Des Moines metro area between 11 a.m. and noon, authorities said on radio traffic.

At 10:11 a.m., a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Dallas, Boone, Greene Guthrie, eastern Carroll and western Polk counties until 11 a.m. 

The greatest threats are large hail, heavy rain and winds up to 70 mph, according to the NWS. Threats of tornadoes are minimal, but not implausible from this system, according to the NWS. 

A severe thunderstorm watch for counties including Dallas and Polk is in effect from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Twenty-three counties in west-central Iowa, including Polk, Dallas and Madison in metro Des Moines, are experiencing extreme or severe drought, according to the USDA Drought monitor, which is updated weekly. 

West-central Iowa counties have received 8 to 12 inches less rain than normal state climatologist Justin Glisan said last week. 

"Where you do get rain, it's been spotty, at best," Glisan said. "If you're lucky, you get a half-inch to an inch."

Philip Joens covers breaking news for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens. 

Your subscription makes our journalism possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.