Metal roofs are credibly proven to last 50 years or more with proper maintenance, but no amount of maintenance can prepare a roof for the kind of severe weather plaguing the U.S. this week.
Iowa officials reported that severe storm winds ripped roofs off of homes, toppled trees, and even knocked out power in some areas of the state.
Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
Winds up to 54 mph were recorded at the Dubuque airport, and power outages were reported Dubuque and Delaware counties.
Not only that, but people in New Orleans are just starting to recover after a tornado with winds reaching 80 mph ravaged a half-mile strip of neighborhood, flattening homes and knocking out power lines.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado, an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, moved quickly through the Seventh Ward. City officials said several streets in the area may remain closed pending examination of structural damage.
Unlike the incident in Iowa, at least two people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries as a result of the storm.
Luckily, there were no casualties. However, power outages were reported for up to 29,000 customers and several empty buildings collapsed.
While the storms are bringing destruction to U.S. cities, they’re bringing adventure to storm chasers across the nation.
Alex Haworth and Brandon Copic are storm chasers who spent this past Wednesday following a tornado that ripped through North Dakota.
“We got within 200 yards, maybe 100 yards,” explained Haworth.
“Chasing in North Dakota was definitely one of the top in my career by far. Just amazed at the size of the tornado and the overall intensity, it was likely one of the largest tornadoes I’ve seen in my 7 year career chasing storms,” said Copic.
It was one of many tornadoes that broke out in North Dakota on Wednesday, a number only matched by last year’s figures.
Fortunately, there aren’t any more tornadoes forecasted for the weekend.
USA Today reports that although most of the U.S. will experience more storms over the weekend, they may not be as severe as the ones that have caused havoc in so many areas this past week.