Watch: Drone captures severely damaged wind turbine in Iowa after tornado

MECHANICSVILLE, Iowa – Drone footage captured extensive damage to a wind farm in eastern Iowa following last week’s derecho and severe weather outbreak, which included more than a dozen tornadoes sweeping through the state.

Christopher Sherman captured video showing the extent of the damage sustained on May 25 to the Pioneer Grove Wind Farm in Mechanicsville near Cedar Rapids.

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Iowa has had the most tornadic activity in the country so far this year, which is somewhat unusual for the Hawkeye State.

The National Weather Service in Quad Cities said a total of 16 tornadoes were documented on May 24.

The four most powerful tornadoes all had maximum winds near 110 mph (EF-1). These tornadoes occurred in Delta, Iowa; Wellman to Frytown, Iowa; Bennett to Lowden, Iowa; and Coyne Center, Illinois. 

NWS storm survey teams did not find enough damage to give a rating to the Mechanicsville tornado, though recent research indicates wind turbines can withstand wind speeds up to 120 mph before being at risk of toppling, as several turbines did in an EF-4 tornado that swept through Greenfield, Iowa on May 21.

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The NWS said this event marked the highest number of tornadoes in a single occurrence for the area since the March 31, 2023, outbreak. 

The severe weather outbreak spanned from central Nebraska through northwest Illinois, was classified as a derecho, which is a widespread and long-lived complex of wind-producing severe thunderstorms.

Derechos also have the potential to produce numerous tornadoes during their lifecycle.