Tornado touchdown confirmed in Washington, Henry counties

UPDATE: During a storm survey Friday morning, the National Weather Service confirmed that storm damage in Henry and Washington counties was caused by a tornado.

A full survey report will be released from the National Weather Service. The report will include information about the number of tornadoes, the width and estimated wind speed of the tornado.

Wayland Police Chief Ron Roth said he saw a tornado around 9 p.m. Thursday bearing down on the area.

"Damage to the surrounding areas (of Wayland) is moderate to heavy," Roth said.  "But (downtown) Wayland seems all right."

Roth said he only saw the tornado for about two seconds during a large lightning strike.  No injuries have been reported, he said.

More than a dozen volunteer firefighters from both Henry and Washington counties gathered at the Wayland fire department to take damage reports.

A farm building holding turkeys just east of Wayland sustained major damage as a result of the storm.  An estimated 100 volunteers worked through the night to help save more than 1,000 turkeys from what is left of the building.

Power lines, trees and other debris is spread out in a path running southwest of the farm building.  Several homes sustained damage in the same path.

On Friday, a National Weather Service survey team from the Quad Cities will assess the damage to determine if a tornado touched down.

Henry County Emergency Manager Walt Jackson said he has only heard light to moderate damage outside of Wayland.

"There's some tin off barns and some houses that have been damaged," Jackson said.

It was difficult to estimate the strength of the storm Thursday night, as darkness was getting in the way of the damage assessment, Jackson said.

Power remained out for much of Wayland late Thursday night.