DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The National Weather Service has confirmed the intensity of five tornadoes in Iowa during Wednesday’s storms. The tornado that stretched from Atlantic to Exira was an EF-2 tornado and stretched 26.1 miles. Near Harcourt and Duncombe was an EF-2 tornado that extended 26.7 miles. An EF-2 tornado from Bayard to Jefferson traveled 24 miles. The tornado between Fansler and Winkelmans was an EF-2 and traveled 17.4 mph. The tornado near Lakeview has not been identified yet, but traveled 18.8 miles. The tornadoes all had winds between 115 mph and 120 mph.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Wednesday night’s storm system that brought widespread damage and tornadoes to Iowa is officially being declared a derecho. The National Weather Service has confirmed 13 tornadoes hit Iowa. Six of them were considered strong, with winds of up to 120 mph. Behind the initial line, winds gusted up to 74 mph. That’s the highest non-thunderstorm wind gust ever recorded in Des Moines.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa schools are responding to nationwide, anonymous social media threats that are being shared on social media outlets–mostly on Tik Tok. The general threat toward all U.S. schools declares Dec. 17 as “American School Shooting Day.”

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines police on Friday announced five students will be charged in a series of threats made at Stilwell Junior High. Since Dec. 10, police have been investigating several social media and spoken threats of possible violence. According to police, two students have been charged with felony terrorism and three more have been charged with first-degree harassment.

WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Warren County man is in the hospital after accidentally rupturing an underground propane tank in his front yard. The Northern Warren Fire Department responded to an explosion in the Greenbrier subdivision west of Maffitt Lake just after 6 p.m. Thursday. The man was attempting to clear fallen trees from his yard with a skid loader when the machinery struck the propane line buried beneath the grass.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Law enforcement in eastern Iowa arrested three people on Wednesday after they allegedly stole clothing from Old Navy in Evansdale and made a run for it. The driver refused to stop and a chase ensued, with speeds exceeding 100 mph. Stop sticks were deployed to stop the vehicle.