Tornadoes and violent storms hit parts of the South and Midwest on Wednesday, killing at least one person, knocking down power lines and trees, tearing roofs from homes and shooting thousands of feet of garbage into the air.
A tornado emergency was temporarily issued in northeastern Arkansas, and the National Weather Service told social media residents, “This is a life-threatening situation. Find a shelter now.”
Dozens of tornadoes and severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued as storms hit in the evening in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi. Forecasters were attributed to the unstable atmosphere from the bay, strong wind shear and the strong weather maintained by daytime heating, where abundant moisture flows through the central part of the Gulf Coast.
Missouri Highway Patrol said at least one person died Wednesday in southeastern Missouri, KFVS-TV reported.
The coming days were predicted to pose a risk of potentially fatal flash flooding in the south and the Midwest as severe thunderstorms supercharged eastward. The powerful storm system will bring “critical, life-threatening flash floods” every day until Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
The long-term flooding is an event that happens at least a single foot of rain over the next four days, “a once in a lifetime,” the Weather Service said. “Historical rainfall and impacts are possible.”
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More than 90 million people were at risk of severe weather in most of the countries that stretch from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center.
Tornadoes land and more could come
A tornado emergency was temporarily declared Wednesday evening, at least 25,000 feet of debris were lofted around Blytheville, Arkansas, according to Cherry Amin, a meteorologist with Weather Services. It was the best weather service alert and rare. It was not immediately clear whether he had been injured.
“In areas that come out of Arkansas, it’s definitely going to be a really scary situation with morning sunrise,” Amin said.
Highway 18, more than two miles in the area, was temporarily closed due to power lines down.
A tornado was also reported in the evening on the ground near Harrisburg, Arkansas.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management reported damage occurred in 22 counties due to tornadoes, gusts of winds, hail and flash floods. At least four people were injured on Wednesday evening, with no reported deaths.
At Missouri’s pilot glove, several structures were damaged, the car was turned over and the electric pole was broken, the state’s Office of Emergency Management said. Missouri Highway Patrol reported minor injuries. Meanwhile, the road has been closed due to storm debris and fallen utility lines near the town of Potosi southwest of St. Louis, according to the state transport department.
Officials in eastern Missouri were trying to determine whether a tornado was the one that damaged buildings, overturned vehicles and tore apart utility poles, wooden limbs and business signs on the mornings of Nevada and surrounding area.
Another tornado landed in Oklahoma City, northeastern Owasso, around 6:40am, according to the Tulsa Weather Service. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but Twister severely damaged the roof of the house and knocked down the power lines, trees, fences and sheds.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service office in the Padoca area, Kentucky, were hiding during the night warning.
“We’re all good in the office. Distribution just missed us south,” the agency told social media.
Power has been knocked out by approximately 90,000 customers in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to Poweroutage.us. More than 182,000 customers lost power as the storm moved through Indiana on Wednesday night.
The news outlet reported that part of a collapsed warehouse in Brownsburg, Indiana, outside of Indianapolis, temporarily locked up at least one person inside, but the police department told people not to travel around the city. State police reported five semi-trucks were blown off on Interstate 65 near Lowell, Indiana.
The dangerous weather came nearly two years after an EF-3 tornado hit Little Rock, Arkansas. No one was killed, but there was a great destruction in the neighborhoods and businesses that are still being rebuilt today.
Strong, long-term tornadoes possible in the most risky areas
Approximately 2.5 million people rarely were called “high risk” zones, covering parts of West Tennessee, including Memphis. Northeast Arkansas; southeastern corner of Missouri. Parts of western Kentucky and southern Illinois.
The Storm Prediction Center said it is likely that “multiple long-truck EF3+ tornadoes.” The tornado of that size is the most powerful on the reinforced Fujita scale used to assess strength.
The slightly lower risk of bad weather was in areas including Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Louisville, Kentucky. Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee and Nashville, Tennessee were also at risk.
Floods could flood towns and wipe out cars
Thunderstorm lines caused heavy rain through parts of Indiana Wednesday night. At least one street has been flooded in Indianapolis, with water nearly reaching windows of several cars, according to the city’s metropolitan police station. No one was in the car.
More rain was expected in parts of Texas, in parts of Mississippi’s lower valleys and in parts of the Ohio Valley from mid-week until Saturday. Forecasters warned that they could repeatedly track the same area, creating dangerous flash floods that could clean the car.
According to NWS meteorologist Mark Rose, Middle Tennessee saw heavy storms and was spinning around the weekend with four days of heavy rain.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve been here for 30 years,” Rose said. “It’s not moving.”
The weather department warned that the risk of flooding was particularly high in some areas of Kentucky and Indiana, as rain totaled 15 inches over the next seven days at the southeast corner of northeastern Arkansas, Missouri, western Kentucky, and southeastern Illinois and southern Indiana.
Power outages over the Midwest
In Michigan, crews worked to restore power after a weekend ice storm. More than 122,000 customers still had no power on Wednesday, according to Poweroutage.us.
The Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan’s Lower Half Peninsula and the upper peninsula, was closed as large blocks fell from cables and towers. It was the third day in a row that had been suspended from an ice storm.
Jeff Martin and Harry Golden
