Menacing winds wreak havoc

Winds gusting up to 45 m.p.h. throughout Thursday did some damage in the Linn County area, blowing down the broadside of a barn and sending one man to St. Luke's Hospital.

The winds knocked down the east side of an old barn at 1929 County Home Road earlier in the day.

At around 5:25 p.m., a strong gust kicking up southeast Third Avenue ripped the bough off a maple tree and dropped on a pedestrian's head. Cedar Rapids police said that a 55-year-old man had been walking on the sidewalk near Third Avenue and 14th Street when the sizable branch dropped on top of him.

Officers said the man suffered a bump on the head, as well as some scrapes and bruises, but that his injuries were not serious.

KCRG-TV9 chief meteoroligist Joe Winters said that such strong winds are not unusual, and that although they will dissipate at around sunset, they will probably persist with a thunderstorm likely to occur tomorrow.