It's been a year since a tornado killed 7 people in Iowa. Take a look back at the storm:

It's been a year since an EF4 tornado ripped through Winterset on March 5, 2022, killing six people, two of them under the age of 5. Another person was killed as the tornado passed through Red Haw State Park in Lucas County.

The tornado was Iowa's deadliest since 2008, when eight people were killed in Parkersburg and New Hartford.

What happened that day?

For three hours that Saturday evening, central Iowa was gripped by a series of strong storms that tore buildings from their foundations, flipped RVs, and destroyed sheds, garages and barns. Starting near the Nebraska state border, the storms continued east to about Cedar Rapids, unrelenting in their strength and speed. Even those areas spared from twisters were pummeled by vigorous rain and hefty hailstones.

The National Weather Service and local TV meteorologists had been warning for the better part of a week of possible severe weather, but the ferocity of the storms took many by surprise.

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The chance of a tornado in Winterset was just 5%, said Diogenes Ayala, director of Madison County Emergency Management & Homeland Security. At about 4:35 p.m., firefighters reported a tornado hit the ground but it went back up in the air, said Allan Curtis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The tornado touched back down southwest of Winterset at 4:26 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 90 minutes, traveling northeast through parts of Madison, Warren, Polk and Jasper counties before dissipating near Newton at 6:01 p.m.

Curtis said it's not unusual to see severe weather in the spring but "the more unusual part, borderline historical aspect of it was with the strength of the tornado and also to some degree how long it lasted."

"We had a number of tornadoes that day across the area, but by far generally speaking, the most significant one was the one that did go through the southern end of Winterset," Curtis said.

What rating did the tornado get?

The NWS gave the tornado that struck Winterset a preliminary rating of EF4 on a six-level scale, which marked the first tornado of that intensity in Iowa since October 2013.

The tornado's path of nearly 70 miles was the second-longest in the state since 1980, surpassed only by a June 1984 tornado that struck southern Iowa.

At its peak, the Winterset tornado had estimated winds of 170 mph and was 800 yards wide.

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What are the names of those who died?

Five adults and two children died in the storm that day, including.

• Melissa Bazley, 63

• Michael Bolger, 37

• Kinlee Bolger, 5

• Owen Bolger, 2

• Rodney Clark, 64

• Jesse Theron Fischer, 40

• Cecilia Lloyd, 72

More:8 family members huddled in a pantry as a tornado approached. Only 4 survived.

Four of the seven people killed were members of the same family who had sought shelter inside a home that was razed by the powerful tornado.

During a news conference the following day, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds teared up as she talked about the "devastating" storm and how residents were helping each other clean up, cook each other meals and care for one another during an emotional time.

What was the damage?

According to Ayala, there was millions of dollars in damage left behind. The state of Iowa did not get a federal disaster declaration for the storm, so there was no federal funding used in the response or recovery and therefore no official dollar amount tied to the damages, said Barb Sturner, spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 7.

A year later, some of the residents whose homes were hit but not destroyed are having trouble getting partial insurance claims, said Tom Leners, executive director of Madison County Development Group. Out of the 50 properties damaged, Leners estimates 35 to 40 sustained major damage.

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The South Central Iowa Landfill also took a direct it. Its buildings, steel ramps and scale were destroyed and employees are still working out of a construction office trailer.

"The landfill was wiped off the face of the Earth that day, too, and we are still trying to get a landfill back in business," Leners said.

The Greater Madison County Community Foundation has received hundreds of donations for disaster recovery totaling more than $500,000. It has issued about 70 grants to homeowners making repairs.

What were the deadliest tornadoes in Iowa?

• 125 killed: June 30, 1860, "Camanche tornado" in Hardin, Linn, Jones and Clinton counties. The was the deadliest disaster in Iowa history.

• 71 killed: June 6, 1893, Pomeroy

• 70 killed: June 17, 1882, Grinnell

• 33 killed: March 23, 1913, in Iowa and Nebraska

• 30 killed: May 3, 1895, Sioux, Osceola counties

• 19 killed: May 24, 1895, Polk, Jasper counties

• 17 killed: May 15, 1968, Oelwein, Charles City, Maynard, Elma

• 8 killed: May 25, 2008, Parkersburg and New Hartford.

• 6 killed: Oct. 14, 1966, Belmond

• 6 killed: Sept. 16, 1978, Jasper and Poweshiek counties

More: Tracking tornadoes since 1950 and damage

What is Winterset doing to mark the 2022 tornado?

Winterset will hold a night of remembrance to mark the one year anniversary at 4 p.m. Sunday at New Bridge Church, at 1305 W. Jefferson St., in Winterset. A reading of names begins at 4:35 p.m.

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Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: It's been a year since the Winterset tornado killed 7 people in Iowa