A DIRECT HIT!

We Deployed in a Tornado Emergency

On Thursday April 17, 2025, Project WeatherEye deployed 2 Rapid Deployment Devices near Essex, Iowa, as a tornado emergency was issued by the National Weather Service in nearby Omaha, Nebraska.

A large tornado was obvious based on radar and was in close proximity to town, so it was a very justified warning. The tornado was set to track due east, either directly over Essex or just slightly north.

RDD-1 was secured to a large wooden fence post about 1 mile or so north of Highway 48, looking just slightly north of due west, while RDD-2 was fixed to a utility pole to the south and west of RDD-1, along Highway 48, looking due west toward Essex. This placement gave us a safe bet of at least one of them receiving a direct hit.

Take a look at how active the lightning was…

RadarOmega screenshot as the tornado emergency was in effect. RDD-2 was being deployed at this moment in time.

Lightning illuminates the approaching supercell.

Something Hit Us

We’re unsure what this is, but something hit us. Looks like these could be sparks from interacting with a power line? Not entirely sure, but we assume it was part of a cattle shelter. There were many large, metal shelters for cattle in the area and nearly every one of them went flying. Watch the slowed down clip below…

The Tornado Damage Survey

Here’s the stats from the NWS:

Time (Local) 8:32 PM - 9:08 PM

EF Rating EF1

Est. Peak Winds 110 mph

Path Length 19.72 miles

Max Width 3130 yards (1.78 miles!)

NWS Tornado Path

With a 1.78 mile wide tornado, it’s no wonder we were able to take a direct hit with RDD-1. That’s a huge margin for error, considering most tornadoes are much smaller, just a few tens to hundreds of yards wide.

A vehicle found in the damage path near Essex, about 2 miles west of RDD-2, assumed tossed by the tornado.