A powerful and destructive tornado outbreak occurred in west central Iowa 20 years ago this evening.  According to the National Weather Service, the first tornado warnings were issued at about 7 p.m. near Sioux City. Over the next several hours, 25 additional warnings were issued throughout the region. Tornadoes touched down in Greene, Adair, Carroll, Guthrie, Sac and Union counties. The storms injured several people and caused over $8 million in damage, destroying 52 homes, 10 businesses and tearing up a lot of farmland.

Even though 1995 was a time before viral internet videos and even before the hit blockbuster movie ‘Twister’, the storms inspired then-Stuart resident Jack Lawson to grab his VHS camcorder and film as the F4 tornado came dangerously close to his home.

Lawson has vivid memories of the twister and says word spread around Stuart of a local girl’s homework being found fifty miles away from the storm.

As further testament to the incredible power of the storm, May 27th, 1995 remains one of the few times that the Department of Transportation has ever completely shut down one of the busiest highways in the country, Interstate 80, to allow tornadoes to cross the freeway without putting motorists at risk in west central Iowa. You can find a link to Jack Lawson’s Stuart tornado video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GlSgu3IL0