In defeat, Liz Goodman peeled the sign off the door of her business on the Coralville Strip Friday evening. Next to the door, the warehouse’s metal walls were destroyed and its beams curled from high winds of the tornado that hit the area hours before. The inventory for her business of 22 years covered the cement floor — smashed on the ground.

“I was at home and In Iowa City on the east side and I saw that the news said it was in Coralville. I thought, ‘That’s where my warehouse is.’ And then I got a call from my landlord and my landlord’s daughter’s here … and she said it’s gone.”

Tornadoes tore through at least three Iowa counties on Friday evening destroying neighborhoods and businesses. In Coralville, the tornado brought down powerlines, causing power outages, overturned cars, and stripped walls off of homes.

Near Goodman’s warehouse, on 2421 James St., a truck containing Pepperidge Farm products was overturned and goldfish and cookie packages scattered the ground.

“I am just shocked,” Goodman said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, she said it was gone, but I didn’t really expect to see this gigantic type of thing with steel beams.”

In Johnson County, tornadoes ran through Coralville, Solon, and Hills.

As the sun set and winds started picking up Friday, Johnson County residents like Kim Cooney took action. Her daughter owns two 12-plex apartment buildings off of Boston Way. Storage units in the complex’s parking lot were ripped from the ground, which damaged residents’ cars and the area around them.

“Look at all of this tin,” Cooney said while looking at the scene. “It’s out of control.”

Cooney said following the aftermath of the tornado, workers and volunteers will start securing the loose debris and structures as much as possible to prevent them from getting blown into other homes and destroying them.

Crews and volunteers will be back Saturday to continue the clean-up, she said.

The National Weather Service forecasted winds as high as 40 mph for Friday night.

The Coralville law enforcement blocked off Highway 6 to restore power lines taken down by the tornado. Coralville Fire Department Assistant Chief Bill Horning said the department is working in conjunction with Iowa City and North Liberty law enforcement to aid in the clean-up process after the tornado.

Coralville Comfort Suites Assistant General Manager Tandra Mathes said people displaced by the tornado were already calling the hotel, located at 2431 James St off of Highway 6., to book rooms.

Businesses around Highway 6 lost power during the tornado. Customers of Comfort Suites waited in the lobby for answers about the power outage, which Mathes said she hoped would be repaired by Friday evening. In the meantime, Mathes said she had cell service to check new customers in.

Reiley Lichty, who works at the Chart Room located at 2441 James St., started her shift right after the tornado cleared. She said the bar was slowly closing while the building’s power was restored.

“I’m glad this building didn’t get hit because there’s also a building right over there right on the other side of that guy that was,” Lichty said.

Lichty’s colleague, Maxwell Van Orden, said the bar can’t host Hawkeye fans to watch the Final Four women’s basketball match against South Carolina because the power is out.