Iowa 80
Severe weather interrupted one of the biggest trucking events of the summer last weekend.
The Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 truck stop was closed Saturday afternoon, July 12, when a major thunderstorm blew through.
"We always monitor the weather closely and closed the event around 4:30 pm on Friday before severe weather hit," said hHeather DeBaillie, vice president of operations and marketing at Iowa 80. "The storm had a lot of lightning and torrential rain.
"Local fire and law enforcement helped us alert everyone to get them off the grounds. Some chose to leave, others went to the main truck stop building to wait out the storm. There was a tornado about five miles from us; luckily we didn't sustain any damage.
"We were able to open the Jamboree back up Saturday morning at 9 a.m. as planned."
The jamboree opened on Thursday, July 11.
