ADAIR – One person is confirmed dead following a potential tornado that struck the southeast part of Adair overnight. This happened near 110th Street and Elk Avenue in Adair; south of Interstate 80.
74-year-old Linda Lee Brownlee died after the early Wednesday morning storm ripped through Adair. Her husband, 78-year-old Harold Brownlee, is in a Des Moines hospital in critical but stable condition.
“We greatly appreciate the thoughts and prayers from our friends and the community at this difficult time,” the Brownlee family said in a statement. “We would like to thank the Adair County Sheriff’s office, Emergency Management, first responders, EMS and MercyOne Des Moines Air Ambulance for their quick response to provide care. At this time we request privacy, as we focus our energy on our father’s recovery and the remembrance of our step-mother.”
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado as EF-2 after surveying the area.
“You just can’t believe what wind will do to it,” said Bob Knapp, a family friend of the Brownlees. “It’s a beautiful house, and now there’s no house left.”
This is the first tornado-related fatality in Iowa since 2014