Storm Hits Hamilton County: Power Out, Tree Falls, and Hail Damage

Residents were urged to seek shelter in basements when tornado sirens rang across Hamilton County on Wednesday evening. A fierce storm—high winds, heavy rain, and hail—swept through the area from Phillips to Hampton. A funnel cloud near Aurora triggered the sirens and prompted a series of weather warnings.

Timeline of Alerts

• 7:05 p.m. – The National Weather Service in Hastings issued a severe thunderstorm warning for central Hamilton County. Winds could reach 60 mph with hail; the storm was near Phillips and moving east at ~10 mph.
• 7:30 p.m. – A tornado warning was released for the same region as the storm pushed over Aurora at 20 mph and observers confirmed a funnel cloud.
• 7:59 p.m. – A final warning covered the southeast part of the county, reporting the storm over Hampton and its continued easterly motion.

Wind Damage Highlights

• A large tree fell on 1307 12th Street in Aurora, just north of the town square.
• At the Aurora Airport, a steel building owned by Aurora Cooperative lost several doors; one was carried over 600 feet down Highway 14 and ended up in a corn field.
• The airport manager, Terry Ott, reported that wind also lifted part of another building’s roof and damaged additional doors—though these are repairable.
• The storm dumped roughly two inches of rain at the airport and a little more on the south side of Aurora.

Power Outages

• Parts of Aurora experienced power outages for almost three hours. A fallen branch struck a power line, causing flickering and loss of electricity in some neighborhoods.