A destructive storm system that produced at least 11 tornado reports and killed five people in Missouri now threatens millions more from Texas to New York with severe winds, big hail, and more potential twisters.
Sheriff Casey Graham reported Wednesday that at least five people were killed when a probable tornado struck Bollinger County, Missouri.
Missouri Storm Is Set To Devastate Other States
According to Missouri State Highway Patrol Col. Eric Olson, five more people were hurt. At least 87 structures were damaged, with 12 of them completely destroyed.
More than 50 million people from Texas to New York remained at risk. There were at least nine tornadoes reported.
According to the National Weather Service, the devastation in Bollinger County looks to be the result of a high-end EF-2 tornado, though details may alter as more information becomes available.
The same storm system that pounded sections of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan on Wednesday evening continued to threaten more than 50 million people from Texas to New York. At least nine tornadoes were recorded Tuesday, including two in Iowa and seven in Illinois, where numerous buildings in Colona were damaged and three semi-trucks were tipped over on I-88.
On Tuesday, more than 170 hail complaints were received in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Michigan. Davenport, Iowa, received a 4-inch hail – the size of a softball – while Oswego, Illinois, received a baseball-sized hail.
An elevated risk of severe storms – Level 3 out of 5 – remained in effect Wednesday evening from northwestern Tennessee to northwestern Ohio, encompassing Columbus, Nashville, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Louisville.
US Tornadoes, Storms
Winter storms battered the Northern Plains on Wednesday, a day after “blizzard conditions” forced the closure of more than 100 miles of Interstate 90. Heavy snow has fallen in the Rockies and is likely to continue over the Northern Plains, where it has been falling for several hours.
Wednesday will bring several inches of snow to parts of eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota. The North Dakota Department of Transportation advised drivers to avoid the highways, stating that the conditions are too dangerous even for emergency services.