15 minutes of weather

The old adage in Iowa is: "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes."

On Sunday afternoon I decided to get a few more things done. I planted another 25 red oak acorns and mulched around the cherry trees. I flagged the recently planted butternut and pecan trees. I checked the radar on the phone and it appeared I had a couple more hours before the rain hit. Up the hill, I moved a cedar to the west side and then carried mulch to the nectarines to the north when a lightning strike changed my mind.

I took me about 15 minutes to plant that cedar tree.

I refreshed the radar and headed back down the hill to lock the gate and rain started up. A strong line of storms was headed so I decided to call it a day at 4:00. The clouds opened up by the time I got to the county blacktop.

About 15 minutes since the lightning strike.

That's when the radio station announced a tornado touching down at Kinross, to the southwest of the tree farm, and a tornado warning right where I was. As roofing tin flew across the road, I questioned my reasoning for being on the road at that time but while other drivers pulled off to the side of the road, I forged on.

Call me stupid, but I came out of the storm about 4 miles to the north while avoiding tree branches, building debris and Margaret Hamilton on a bicycle. After a few gallons of gas at one of the 10 billion Casey's in Iowa, I headed back to check the possible damage as the storm had passed.

Metal roofing scattered in the fields, my neighbor's small building was across the road and two old barns on a farm to the west were gone. I had always meant to stop and take a picture but there wasn't much left today.

But everything's still intact at the farmstead and the ducks that are squatting on the pond were safe.

UPDATE: A woman was killed in Kinross after a EF1 tornado hit.