A tornado outbreak in the Plains and Midwest turned tragic in Iowa 17 years ago when an EF3 twister ripped through a Boy Scout camp.
The deadly tornado struck Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa near the Nebraska border on June 11, 2008. Upon entering the park, the tornado first destroyed a ranger’s house around 6:30 p.m. CDT. From there, the tornado knocked down trees and hit a bunk house where scouts were taking refuge.
Sadly, four Boy Scouts lost their lives in the tornado and nearly 50 others were injured.
This tornado was one of dozens others that caused damage from Kansas to southern Minnesota.
The most powerful tornado in the outbreak was an EF4 that hit Manhattan, Kansas. A total of 45 homes were destroyed in the city and the campus of Kansas State University also suffered significant damage, but nobody was killed.
Another hard-hit community was Chapman, Kansas, where an EF3 twister destroyed 70 homes and killed one person.
Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.