Severe March 1990 tornado destroys Castle Grove, rural Hopkinton, Worthington

     Thirty-five years ago, the Castle Grove, Prairieburg, Hopkinton, and Worthington areas were devastated by an early-season tornado outbreak.

   According to the National Weather Service, on Tuesday, March 13, 1990, “a total of 59 tornado touchdowns impacted the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.” Of those tornadoes, 27 were rated an F2 or higher. An F4 tornado hit the Prairieburg area and the town of Worthington. The tornado was reported to be a half-mile wide at time, according to the meteorologist Terry Swails online blog.

   The National Weather Service shares that “several ingredients need to come together for weather conditions to be conducive for tornado development.” March is quite early for tornadic development, especially this severe.

   On March 13, “a strong surface low pressure was located in northcentral Kansas.” This pulled unseasonably warm air north into southcentral Nebraska and northcentral Kansas.

   “Surface dewpoint temperatures rose to above 60 degrees in Eastern Nebraska, while surface temperatures topped 70 degrees in northern Kansas,” offered the National Weather Service. “A surface dryline, or push, of dry air from the west/southwest bulged into northcentral Kansas, and was part of the spark to ignite the explosive instability in place.”

   Swails notes that March 13, 1990, “sits in the number two spot for largest tornado outbreaks in the state during the month of March.”

   Extensive coverage of the storm was captured in the March 21, 1990, Monticello Express. Then-Editor Susan Babcock relayed the path of the storm and everyone impacted along the way…

   “Area residents are picking up the pieces of their lives that were literally scattered in the winds in last Tuesday’s tornado,” she wrote.

   Then-County Sheriff John Cook was quoted as saying, “It’s a miracle no one got hurt.”

   “Clean-up efforts began Tuesday night, almost before winds had died down as friends, neighbors, American Red Cross volunteers from nearby areas, and even strangers rushed to help those whose homes and property had been destroyed by the storm,” read the Express.

   Jones County’s then-Director of Disaster Services, Dianna DeSotel, estimated the damage just in Jones County to be at least $2.5 million. Five families were left homeless; 18 farmsteads in both Jones and Delaware counties were impacted with significant damage.

   Babcock reported that the “tornado apparently formed in the extreme southwest corner of Castle Grove Township.” The first sighting was at around 4:51 p.m. DeSotel shared that the tornado itself “appeared to be a column-like formation extending to the ground and the clouds appeared to be white instead of black.” There were also several reports of multiple funnels.

   Tornado sirens went off in the City of Monticello, but stopped sounding once the power went out that evening.

   Dan and Diana Stadtmueller’s farm on County Road E-16 (aka. Lower Prairieburg Road) was the first to get hit.

   “The attic story of the house was ripped off, an attached garage blown aways, and farm buildings and grain bins were mangled,” reported the Express.

   On the Steve and Elizabeth Johnson farm, a newly remodeled barn and steel sheds were blown away.

   It was the Johnsons’ daughter, Jennifer, who spotted the tornado.

   “We just looked out the window and there it was,” Elizabeth Johnson was quoted as saying. “We headed for the basement.”

   Siding was torn off the home at the Tom Ahlrichs’ farm across the road from the Johnson farm. A barn was also destroyed and windows blown out of the home. Fortunately, the home was currently unoccupied.

   Other Castle Grove-area farms hit included: Ed Siebels, Mike and Marcey Muller, a farm owned by Gary Zumbach (where the Mike Heims family was residing), Bill McLaughlin, Joe and Susan Roling, and Merlin and Vivian Rupp.

   The Rolings were renting the home on the Jerry Muller farm. Buildings on the farm were destroyed and many trees were toppled.

   The Rupps were in Dubuque at the time of the storm. When they arrived home, they found their house in ruins.

   “Portions of the roof and been torn away and numerous windows broken,” read the Express.

   “We’ll get through this,” Vivian Rupp was quoted as saying. “We’ll manage.”

   As Merlin was cleaning up their property a few days after the storm, he fell from working inside his attic. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids for his extensive injuries.

   As the storm continued northwest, heavy damage was reported on farms owned by Donald Rieniets, Dick Starks, and Herman and Helen Steuri. Ironically, the Steuri farm was hit by a tornado in 1964.

   As the storm traveled into Delaware County, the Cletus Chapman farm was hit.

   “The most extensive damage in the Hopkinton area was confined to two locations,” noted the Express, “The Doug Mettler residence and the John Leytem farm.”

   The Mettler family rented the home a farm owned by Margaret Lamont.