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Tag: Tornadoes

  • Ohio smashes tornado record by this much

    Ohio smashes tornado record by this much

    *Related video: An Ohio man captures video of a tornado on March 14, 2024*

    CLEVELAND (WJW) — If you think there’s been a lot more tornadoes around here the last two springs, especially this past April, you’re right!

    This following statistic from Fox 8 meteorologist Scott Sabol is a real eye opener.

    Sabol reports that Ohio averages 7 tornadoes in April, but this year the Buckeye State had 43 April tornadoes.

    Several of those tornadoes touched down in NE Ohio causing extensive damage in places like Windham in Portage County on April 18.

    “So far this year, the Ohio tornado count has been record setting,” Sabol said. “Preliminary numbers put the total at 43, although official tornado track analysis puts the exact number closer to 35. Either way, we haven’t had a year anywhere close to this since…well, last year,” he added.

    April 2024 delivered Ohio its most tornadoes since tracking started in 1950 and 36 more tornadoes than in an average Ohio April

    In the NOAA map below, posted by Scott to his newest blog in Scott Sabol’s World of Weather, you see several damaging tornadoes struck west and east of Cleveland in NE Ohio, while many of the tornadoes swept through west central and central Ohio.

    Why so many tornadoes this year?

    Sabol explained “First, we have been transitioning out of a very strong El Nino period and rapidly heading into a La Nina. These changes in the equatorial Pacific have impacted the jet stream across the central US. Throughout the winter, the storm track was absent across the US as evident by below normal snowfall across the central US.”

    Sabol also said that the jet stream intensity “was abnormally strong in March and April across the Midwest.

    What about May?

    Going by the 8 Day Forecast, it will be a pleasant and mild to warm setting.

    You can check out the current forecast by clicking here.

    Scott Sabol

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  • Tornadoes kill 3 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid storm damage

    Tornadoes kill 3 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid storm damage

    Tornadoes that tore across Oklahoma left a wide trail of destruction Sunday, leveling homes and buildings and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents. At least three people were killed, including a child.Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement Sunday. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.In Holdenville, houses were demolished and road signs were bent to the ground in the community roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) from Oklahoma City. The sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance as workers began tackling the damage.Video below: Tornado spotted in Ashland, Nebraska”My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement.He issued an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines. Later in the day, he planned to tour the southern Oklahoma city of Sulphur, where some buildings were reduced to piles of rubble.More than 30,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma as of midday Sunday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 52,000 customers were without power.In Sulphur, authorities reported unspecified injuries along with significant destruction as the tornado began in a city park before tearing through Sulphur’s downtown area. Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.Video below: Large tornado crossing interstate in NebraskaPhotos from local news media showed several leveled buildings and roofs ripped off of homes. The Murray County Sheriff’s Office urged people to stay away from the city to clear the way for first responders following extensive damage from tornadoes, according to a statement posted by the agency on Facebook.”Stay home and do not come to look,” the sheriff’s office said.A hospital was damaged in Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, which also said that I-35 was closed at the border with Texas “due to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway.”Video below: Tornado seen near Lincoln, NebraskaResidents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.Dozens of reported tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging at least 150 homes in Omaha alone. Fewer than two dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospitals, said Dr. Lindsay Huse, health director of the city’s Douglas County Health Department.”Miraculous,” she said, stressing that none of the city’s injuries were serious. Neighboring communities reported a handful of injuries each.Video below: Sister station KCCI tracks large tornado in IowaThe tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.One or possibly two tornadoes then spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Omaha office.Ultimately the twister slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood in western Omaha, a city of 485,000 people with a metropolitan-area population of about 1 million.Firefighters worked into the evening to make sure no one was trapped. By Saturday morning, the sounds of chainsaws filled the air there. Lumber from the damaged homes lay in piles. Fences were knocked over, and the trees were skeletal, missing most of their branches.Staci Roe surveyed the damage to what was supposed to be her “forever home,” which was not even two years old. When the tornado hit, they were at the airport picking up a friend who was supposed to spend the night.”There was no home to come to,” she said, describing “utter dread” when she saw it for the first time.Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.A second tornado then passed over Eppley Airfield on the eastern edge of Omaha, destroying four hanger buildings with 32 privately owned planes inside. No one was hurt, and the passenger terminal was not hit. The airport has resumed operations, although access to areas used by noncommercial pilots is limited so crew can clean up the mess, the airfield said in a news release.Video below: Downed trees and damaged power lines in Elkhorn, NebraskaAfter hitting the airport, the storm moved into Iowa, taking aim at the small town of Minden.Forty to 50 homes were completely destroyed. Two injuries were reported but none were life-threatening, said Jeff Theulen, chief deputy of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, at a late Friday briefing.Even as the National Weather Service worked to evaluate the damage, the forecast for Saturday was ominous. It issued tornado watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Large hail also was possible. Some schools canceled proms because of the forecasts.“Tornadoes, perhaps significant tornadoes,” were possible Saturday afternoon and evening, said weather service meteorologist Bruce Thoren in Norman, Oklahoma.___Associated Press journalists Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

    Tornadoes that tore across Oklahoma left a wide trail of destruction Sunday, leveling homes and buildings and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents. At least three people were killed, including a child.

    Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

    In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement Sunday. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

    In Holdenville, houses were demolished and road signs were bent to the ground in the community roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) from Oklahoma City. The sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance as workers began tackling the damage.

    Video below: Tornado spotted in Ashland, Nebraska

    “My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement.

    He issued an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines. Later in the day, he planned to tour the southern Oklahoma city of Sulphur, where some buildings were reduced to piles of rubble.

    More than 30,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma as of midday Sunday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 52,000 customers were without power.

    In Sulphur, authorities reported unspecified injuries along with significant destruction as the tornado began in a city park before tearing through Sulphur’s downtown area. Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

    Video below: Large tornado crossing interstate in Nebraska

    Photos from local news media showed several leveled buildings and roofs ripped off of homes. The Murray County Sheriff’s Office urged people to stay away from the city to clear the way for first responders following extensive damage from tornadoes, according to a statement posted by the agency on Facebook.

    “Stay home and do not come to look,” the sheriff’s office said.

    A hospital was damaged in Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, which also said that I-35 was closed at the border with Texas “due to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway.”

    Video below: Tornado seen near Lincoln, Nebraska

    Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.

    Dozens of reported tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging at least 150 homes in Omaha alone.

    Fewer than two dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospitals, said Dr. Lindsay Huse, health director of the city’s Douglas County Health Department.

    “Miraculous,” she said, stressing that none of the city’s injuries were serious. Neighboring communities reported a handful of injuries each.

    Video below: Sister station KCCI tracks large tornado in Iowa

    The tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

    One or possibly two tornadoes then spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Omaha office.

    Ultimately the twister slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood in western Omaha, a city of 485,000 people with a metropolitan-area population of about 1 million.

    Firefighters worked into the evening to make sure no one was trapped. By Saturday morning, the sounds of chainsaws filled the air there. Lumber from the damaged homes lay in piles. Fences were knocked over, and the trees were skeletal, missing most of their branches.

    Staci Roe surveyed the damage to what was supposed to be her “forever home,” which was not even two years old. When the tornado hit, they were at the airport picking up a friend who was supposed to spend the night.

    “There was no home to come to,” she said, describing “utter dread” when she saw it for the first time.

    Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.

    A second tornado then passed over Eppley Airfield on the eastern edge of Omaha, destroying four hanger buildings with 32 privately owned planes inside. No one was hurt, and the passenger terminal was not hit. The airport has resumed operations, although access to areas used by noncommercial pilots is limited so crew can clean up the mess, the airfield said in a news release.

    Video below: Downed trees and damaged power lines in Elkhorn, Nebraska

    After hitting the airport, the storm moved into Iowa, taking aim at the small town of Minden.

    Forty to 50 homes were completely destroyed. Two injuries were reported but none were life-threatening, said Jeff Theulen, chief deputy of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, at a late Friday briefing.

    Even as the National Weather Service worked to evaluate the damage, the forecast for Saturday was ominous. It issued tornado watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Large hail also was possible. Some schools canceled proms because of the forecasts.

    “Tornadoes, perhaps significant tornadoes,” were possible Saturday afternoon and evening, said weather service meteorologist Bruce Thoren in Norman, Oklahoma.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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  • Tornadoes kill 3 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid storm damage

    Tornadoes kill 3 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid storm damage

    HOLDENVILLE, Okla. — Tornadoes that tore across Oklahoma left a wide trail of destruction Sunday, leveling homes and buildings and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents. At least three people were killed, including a child.

    Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

    In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement Sunday. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

    In Holdenville, houses were demolished and road signs were bent to the ground in the community roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) from Oklahoma City. The sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance as workers began tackling the damage.

    “My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement.

    He issued an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines. Later in the day, he planned to tour the southern Oklahoma city of Sulphur, where some buildings were reduced to piles of rubble.

    More than 30,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma as of midday Sunday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 52,000 customers were without power.

    In Sulphur, authorities reported unspecified injuries along with significant destruction as the tornado began in a city park before tearing through Sulphur’s downtown area. Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

    Photos from local news media showed several leveled buildings and roofs ripped off of homes. The Murray County Sheriff’s Office urged people to stay away from the city to clear the way for first responders following extensive damage from tornadoes, according to a statement posted by the agency on Facebook.

    “Stay home and do not come to look,” the sheriff’s office said.

    A hospital was damaged in Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, which also said that I-35 was closed at the border with Texas “due to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway.”

    Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.

    Fewer than two dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospitals, said Dr. Lindsay Huse, health director of the city’s Douglas County Health Department.

    “Miraculous” she said, stressing that none of the city’s injuries were serious. Neighboring communities reported a handful of injuries each.

    The tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

    One or possibly two tornadoes then spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Omaha office.

    Ultimately the twister slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood in western Omaha, a city of 485,000 people with a metropolitan-area population of about 1 million.

    Staci Roe surveyed the damage to what was supposed to be her “forever home,” which was not even two years old. When the tornado hit, they were at the airport picking up a friend who was supposed to spend the night.

    “There was no home to come to,” she said, describing “utter dread” when she saw it for the first time.

    Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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  • 6 tornadoes hit North Texas on Friday; more storms, flooding to come Saturday: NWS

    6 tornadoes hit North Texas on Friday; more storms, flooding to come Saturday: NWS

    Scattered severe storms are expected to hit North Texas Saturday, April 27, into Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch is also in effect.

    Scattered severe storms are expected to hit North Texas Saturday, April 27, into Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch is also in effect.

    National Weather Service Fort Worth

    Six tornadoes hit North Texas counties following severe storms and tornado watches that were issued Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

    Three tornadoes hit Navarro County, which is about 78 miles northeast of Fort Worth. The NWS also reported two tornadoes that touched ground in McLennan and Hill counties.

    An EF-2 tornado hit near the McLennan and Hill County lines, according to the NWS. Damage in Hill County is still being assessed.

    The NWS asks the public to plan accordingly as more severe storms are expected Saturday afternoon and evening.

    Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash flooding will be possible as a line of storms will move east across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cisco, and Gainesville overnight.

    A flood watch is in effect for North Texas as a predicted 10 percent of the area will see rainfall totals ranging from 4 to 6 inches. The flooding threat will be highest Saturday night going into Sunday morning, according to the NWS.

    Scattered storms are also forecast for Sunday and some may be severe, the NWS says. The area that faces the biggest threat for storms Sunday afternoon will be east of Interstate 35. Hail, damaging winds, tornadoes are all possible for Sunday.

    Drivers are urged to never drive into pools of water where the depth is unknown and instead should turn around. They are also urged to use extra caution at low water crossings and in areas of poor drainage, such as construction zones.

    Related stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Nicole Lopez is a breaking news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied multimedia journalism. She also does freelance writing.

    Nicole Lopez

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  • 4/26: CBS Evening News

    4/26: CBS Evening News

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    More than a dozen tornadoes touch down across Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska; High schoolers organize benefit dinner for young cancer patients and families

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  • Severe weather takes aim at parts of the Ohio Valley after battering the South

    Severe weather takes aim at parts of the Ohio Valley after battering the South

    ATLANTA — Powerful storms rumbled over parts of the U.S. Southeast early Thursday, prompting a few tornado warnings, causing flash flooding, and delaying the start of one of the world’s biggest sports events along the Georgia coast.

    The storm system, which has already been blamed for at least one death in Mississippi, demolished buildings and flooded streets in the New Orleans area on Wednesday. It continued to spawn flash flood and tornado warnings in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday.

    More than 100,000 customers lacked power early Thursday nationwide. That included more than 30,000 in Georgia, where the bad weather was ongoing, according to PowerOutage.us.

    Now, forecasters say parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia will be near the bull’s-eye of a new area of concern Thursday. Those areas could see some tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail, according to the latest outlooks from the Storm Prediction Center.

    In Augusta, Georgia, the start of the Masters golf tournament was delayed by at least one hour, tournament officials announced. Forecasters predict wind gusts as high as 45 mph (72 kph) and the potential for tree limbs to be blown down.

    Torrential rains early Thursday made roads impassable in Valdosta, Georgia, an emergency manager reported. In Tallahassee, Florida, storms toppled trees and caused significant street flooding, the National Weather Service said.

    Damage has been reported from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.

    A tornado struck Slidell, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of New Orleans, on Wednesday. It ripped roofs off buildings and partially collapsed others in and around the city of about 28,000. Authorities said first responders had to rescue people trapped in one apartment building.

    Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer estimated at a news conference Wednesday night that about 75 homes and businesses were damaged. Parish President Mike Cooper estimated that hundreds more homes were damaged outside the city.

    Police video showed tree limbs littering the streets and flooded yards that resembled swamps. Outside a McDonald’s restaurant, a car was on its side, power poles leaned, and large pieces of the trademark golden arches were strewn about.

    “I’ve never talked to God so much before in my life,” Robin Marquez said after huddling with co-workers in a two-story building where the roof was ripped away and walls caved in.

    There were no reports of deaths or critical injuries in Slidell. The weather service posted on social media Wednesday that initial surveys indicate the area was hit by an EF-1 tornado, with winds from 86 mph (138 kph) to 110 mph (177 kph).

    Close to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Orleans. It came as the system of pipes and pumps that drains the city dealt with problems with its power generating system, forcing workers to divert power as needed.

    “During intense rain, the mission sometimes shifts from keeping the streets dry to draining them as quickly as possible,” the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said in a statement.

    A woman died in central Mississippi when a power outage shut down her oxygen machine, officials said. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said 72 homes were damaged.

    In Texas, several people were rescued from homes and vehicles early Wednesday when flooding inundated parts of Jasper County, near the Louisiana line, authorities said.

    In the Houston suburb of Katy, strong thunderstorms collapsed part of the roof of an auto repair shop. Storms also damaged businesses and cars in a strip mall, sending a large air conditioning unit on the roof crashing to the parking lot, officials said. Some of the damage was preliminarily determined to have been caused by a weak tornado, officials said.

    “We were blessed that no lives were lost,” Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said. Only minor injuries were reported.

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  • 4/10: CBS Evening News

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    Gulf Coast hit with tornadoes and flooding; Rosie the Riveters honored with Congressional Gold Medal

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  • Deadly Storms and Tornadoes Sweep From Georgia To Illinois

    Deadly Storms and Tornadoes Sweep From Georgia To Illinois

    A series of violent storms caused tornadoes and damaging weather conditions, stretching from the South to the Ohio Valley, resulting in at least three fatalities and numerous injuries.

    In Pennsylvania, two individuals lost their lives due to falling trees amid the storms on Wednesday, as per a report by CNN affiliate WPVI. A tree falling on their vehicles while they were driving resulted in the death of an 82-year-old woman in Collegeville and a 70-year-old man in Aston Township, officials informed WPVI.

    Kentucky witnessed the death of at least one person due to the harsh storms on Tuesday, as announced by Governor Andy Beshear. The victim died in a vehicle crash in Campbell County amid severe weather conditions. Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency statewide on Tuesday following significant storm damage, especially in the Lexington area, although no other deaths or serious injuries were reported in the state.

    Injuries in Indiana, State of Emergency in West Virginia

    The storms also injured at least 10 individuals in Jeffersonville, Indiana, located just north of Louisville, according to the town’s mayor speaking to CNN affiliate WLKY.

    West Virginia’s Governor, Jim Justice, declared a state of emergency Tuesday for multiple counties, including Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Nicholas, due to the storms causing “flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages”. Kevin Walker, the director of Fayette County, West Virginia’s Office of Emergency Management, reported that at least 13 homes suffered damage and some residents were injured, though the injuries were not life-threatening.

    Tornadoes and Damages Across Multiple States

    Between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, 16 tornadoes were reported across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, along with numerous reports of damaging winds, some reaching over 100 mph in Kentucky.

    In Georgia, a tornado significantly damaged Conyers, southeast of Atlanta, early Wednesday morning. The storm caused a tree to fall on a teen’s car, who was then rescued and hospitalized. The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City classified the tornado as EF2, with a path length of approximately 9.5 miles and a width of 800 yards, featuring winds up to 115 mph.

    An elementary school in Ohio was severely damaged by a storm, with Fairland West Elementary in Proctorville facing destruction. Fortunately, students were on spring break at the time. Over in West Virginia, more than 53,000 utility customers were left without power after strong winds swept through the state.

    In Tennessee, a funeral home and several homes suffered damage in Sunbright due to the storm system, which included two tornadoes on Tuesday. A tornado in Sunbright was rated EF1 by the National Weather Service after a damage assessment.

    Oklahoma experienced structural damage in Barnsdall from four tornadoes on Monday. Homes, garages, and roofs suffered damage, according to Barnsdall Police. Missouri also saw three tornadoes on Monday, as reported by the Storm Prediction Center.

    In southern Indiana, high winds or a possible tornado caused several vehicles to flip over on Interstate 265, resulting in minor injuries, according to Indiana State Police in Sellersburg.

    The storm system continues to pose a threat of tornadoes, strong winds, and large hail across the Southeast and East Coast, from Florida to the mid-Atlantic, affecting over 30 million people.

    Srdjan Ilic

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  • 3/15: CBS Evening News

    3/15: CBS Evening News

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    At least 3 killed, dozens injured as tornadoes hit Midwest; How a Maine 8-year-old inadvertently became a fashion trendsetter at his school

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  • 3/15: CBS News Weekender

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    Lana Zak reports on the Fulton County prosecutor stepping down from the Georgia election interference case, a story of survival after tornadoes in Ohio, and what to make of Russia’s presidential election.

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  • At least 2 dead, buildings destroyed after severe storms, suspected tornadoes in Indiana and Ohio

    At least 2 dead, buildings destroyed after severe storms, suspected tornadoes in Indiana and Ohio

    Strong storms that likely included tornadoes swept through eastern Indiana and western Ohio on Thursday evening, leaving at least two people dead, destroying parts of some towns, knocking out power for thousands, and prompting search and rescue efforts in at least one city, officials said.

    A suspected tornado that hit the community of Indian Lake in western Ohio killed two people, Logan County Sheriff Randall Dodds told CNN affiliate WSYX.

    Injuries were also reported the two states, including at least 38 people in Indiana and more than 20 in Ohio, officials said while cautioning the scope of the damage and injuries wouldn’t be known for hours.

    The storms were part of a sprawling system that put more than 45 million people from Texas to western Pennsylvania under threat of severe storms Thursday into early Friday. As of Thursday night, two tornado reports had been made in Indiana and five in Ohio, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

    More than 10,000 homes and businesses in Indiana and nearly 37,000 in Ohio were without power late Thursday night, according to PowerOutage.us.

    In Winchester, Indiana, state police were helping with search and rescue efforts after a tornado likely struck the area, and temporary shelters have been set up for residents, agency spokesperson Sgt. Scott Keegan said on social media.

    The suspected tornado injured more than three dozen people in Winchester, but there were no deaths reported as of Friday morning, according to Randolph County emergency officials.

    State police Superintendent Doug Carter described the storm in Winchester as a “terrible, terrible event.”

    Some homes and other buildings in Winchester were destroyed, he said. Authorities must now scour damaged buildings for any sign of people who may be missing, Carter said. “Every single one of these facilities are going to have to be checked, especially those that have completely collapsed,” he said in a news conference.

    Up to half of the buildings in Selma, Indiana – a town of about 700 people near Winchester – appear damaged in the wake of a severe thunderstorm that may have brought a tornado, the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency said.

    Survey teams from the National Weather Service will be in the Winchester and Selma areas Friday to assess the damage, the service said.

    Strong tornadoes capable of causing considerable damage also were believed to have hit parts of western Ohio’s Auglaize and Logan counties, the Storm Prediction Center said.

    Radar signals in the counties indicated that debris was being lofted as high as 15,000 feet – a sign of a strong tornado, according to the weather service in Wilmington, Ohio. This prompted the service to issue a tornado warning with a “considerable threat” label – the second highest level of tornado warning.

    Approximately 19 people were treated Thursday night for weather-related injuries in the Mary Rutan Health facility in Logan County, a spokesperson for the facility said.

    In addition to Indian Lake, the areas of Lakeview and Russells Point in Logan County were hard hit by the storm, said David Crissman, mayor of the county seat, Bellefontaine.

    Parts of Logan County suffered “a significant amount of damage,” the county emergency management agency said. The agency did not have any information on injuries or damages, and said it was being inundated with calls and working to organize its response.

    “I have a report of a building collapse. There’s people trapped. There are some injuries from the different campgrounds and houses up around the lake,” Crissman said. A trailer park in the county’s northwest corner also was destroyed, he said.

    In Lakeview, video shared by Alena Roberts appeared to show damaged buildings along a road. She was heading home from her second-grader’s concert at a school when the weather worsened, she said.

    “It was terrifying. … Tornado sirens were going off,” she said. After she got home, she could tell the worst portion of the storm hit “because the wind and rain was so loud – I’ve never heard of that loud before.”

    A tornado also may have struck part Mercer County in west-central Ohio, an official there said. The impacted area is mostly farmland, and at least one home and one hog barn were damaged, Mike Robbins, the county emergency management director, told CNN by phone. To the east of that area, outside the Mercer County seat of Celina, a storm damaged several trailer homes and three people sustained minor injuries, Robbins said.

    The tornado reports in Indiana and Ohio came as a system of strong thunderstorms swept across parts of the central and eastern US on Thursday. An area from Texas to Ohio was under a Level 2 of 5 risk Thursday for severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes and damaging wind gusts, while a higher Level 3 of 5 risk centered on parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

    On Friday, the severe weather threat shifts to the US Southeast, where more than 30 million people from Texas to South Carolina could see severe storms. That could include large hail, damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall and a few tornadoes.

    Parts of Texas, Alabama and Mississippi could see the strongest chance for severe weather on Friday.

    (The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

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  • National Weather Service to investigate reported tornado touchdowns in northern, western suburbs

    National Weather Service to investigate reported tornado touchdowns in northern, western suburbs

    GENEVA (WLS) — National Weather Service crews will investigate reported tornado touchdowns from storms Tuesday night.

    ABC7 Accuweather Tracy Butler said there could be several tornado touchdowns from the storms, which also brought hail up to two inches in diameter and very strong winds.

    At Essex Court and Pepper Valley Drive in Geneva, some neighbors think a tornado came through and others believe it may be the work of a microburst.

    The storm ripped trees apart and caused serious damage to homes.

    Fire officials said they got a report of a tornado touchdown in Geneva area near Kaneville just east of Randall Road, but that has yet to be confirmed.

    Video from near Somonauk shows a possible tornado.

    Several homeowners are dealing with damage to their homes and their property, with trees cracked and uprooted.

    “When we got in this neighborhood, over looks like three of four blocks, narrow path, we have some significant damage to some of the homes,” Geneva Fire Chief Michael Antenore said. “Broken windows, downed trees, some doors blown off interior…lot of uprooted large trees in the front yards and back yards.

    “We lost several windows, the one, the frame is pushed into the house, but it could have been a lot worse,” Geneva resident Rebecca Harrington said.

    Some of the scenes from the area showed a trampoline nearly wrapped around a tree and a trailer that nearly flipped on its side.

    Fire officials said they did an initial damage assessment Tuesday night and plan to return Wednesday morning and take full inventory and map all of the damage.

    Apparent funnel clouds were spotted in Lee County Tuesday night as a cluster of severe storms raced through the area.

    Other possible tornadoes and funnel clouds were reported in Kane County near Sugar Grove, in DeKalb County, in Lee County near Paw Paw and in Hoffman Estates in Illinois as well as in East Chicago, Indiana.

    There was also a reported funnel cloud around Hoffman Estates. Around that time, one mother and daughter were huddled in their first-floor bathroom.

    “All of a sudden, the wind picked up. We heard things hitting the roof, hitting the windows. We were downstairs. The sirens were already going off,” said Nancy Kramp.

    “I could just hear things hitting the window, and I told her, ‘I think this is a tornado.’ And she said, ‘No, we’re fine.’ And I was like, ‘No, I really think this is a tornado coming through,’” said Lauryn Kramp.

    The storm knocking down trees and downed power poles in the High Point subdivision, leaving several blocks in the dark. Some homes sustained siding and other damage.

    “Our fence was down. We’ve got people’s roof pieces and siding all over the yard,” Nancy said.

    A Mundelein apartment building suffered a partial wall collapse Tuesday night as strong storms producing reports of tornadoes moved through.

    In north suburban Mundelein, the storm damaged the apartment building in the Washington Court neighborhood.

    Some residents had no idea the storm was coming and others said they heard loud noises and quickly realized severe weather was coming their way.

    Longtime resident Paul Kanta lives in the area.

    “I guess it was 7:30 and I heard some noise, the wind, the rain, tornado coming,” Kanta said.. Then I heard all the noise coming from the back and all the people are out, the cops…I was going through all the rooms trying to hide in a place where there’s no windows. I thought it was a bomb or a roof coming off.”

    Other people described it like the sound of a freight train coming through.

    At this point, it’s not clear how much damaged was caused or if anyone was injured.

    Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

    Jessica D’Onofrio

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  • First-ever February tornadoes in Wisconsin caused $2.4M in damages

    First-ever February tornadoes in Wisconsin caused $2.4M in damages

    EVANSVILLE, Wis. — The first tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin in the usually frigid month of February caused more than $2.4 million in damage, officials said Wednesday.

    The tornadoes that ripped through Rock County on Feb. 8 killed some cattle and hit 30 homes, officials said.

    The damage estimates don’t include agricultural impacts to silos, barns and equipment, said Kevin Wernet, director of Rock County Emergency Management.

    More than $2 million in damages were reported in the town of Porter and more than $320,000 in damages were reported in the town of Fulton, officials said. Two homes were destroyed and 10 sustained major damage.

    One confirmed tornado near Evansville was a “high end” F2, the weather service said. Those tornadoes are described as “significant,” with winds in this particular twister topping out at 135 mph (220 kph). It was on the ground for 36 minutes, traveling 24.5 miles (39.4 kilometers) with a maximum width of 500 yards (457.2 meters).

    Another tornado that touched down near Juda was an F1 with peak winds of 110 mph (177 kph) and on the ground for 14 minutes, covering 8.35 miles (13.4 kilometers) with a maximum width of 50 yards (45.7 meters), the weather service said.

    The tornadoes were the first Wisconsin has experienced during the month of February since at least 1950, when records started being kept.

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  • Storms hit South with tornadoes, dump heavy snow in Midwest

    Storms hit South with tornadoes, dump heavy snow in Midwest

    A sprawling storm hit the South with strong thunderstorms and tornadoes that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow, stranding people on highways as it headed to the Northeast.

    At least two deaths in the South were attributed to the storm, where 55 mph winds and hail moved through the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Alabama and Georgia by sunrise Tuesday, along with at least several reports of radar-confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service said. A wind gust of 106 mph was recorded before dawn near the coast in Walton County, Florida.

    In Jonesboro, Georgia, a tree fell on a car as it was going down a highway, killing the driver, police said. In North Carolina, one person died and two other people were in critical condition after a suspected tornado struck a mobile home park in the town of Claremont, which is north of Charlotte, according to Amy McCauley, a spokesperson for Catawba County.

    Storm-related injuries were reported in Florida, but no deaths. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee at least four tornadoes touched down in the Panhandle. DeSantis issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 49 counties in North Florida. Multiple counties closed schools for Tuesday ahead of the storm, and some said they would reopen Wednesday.

    “This is obviously going to impact the state throughout the day,” DeSantis said.

    A section of Panama City Beach, Florida, showed parts of roofs blown away, furniture, fences and debris strewn about and a house that appeared to be tilted on its side, leaning on another home.

    A house is seen tilting in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Jan. 9, 2024, after a storm hit the area.
    A house is seen tilting in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Jan. 9, 2024, after a storm hit the area.

    WECP-TV


    Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, told reporters about a house in the Panama City area that was listing at an angle of 20-25 degrees, but it wasn’t clear if he was referring to the same house.

    “For it to have to pick that up off its foundation and move it like that, you may even be into EF3 status there,” Guthrie said, referring to the tornado’s strength, which will ultimately be determined by the weather service.

    In Panama City, about 10 miles away, police early Tuesday asked residents to stay indoors and off the roads “unless absolutely necessary” as officers checked on damage from the storms, including downed power lines and trees.

    The city is in Bay County, where there had been multiple reports of tornadoes on the ground, Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a brief Facebook Live post.

    “We’ve rescued people out of structures,” he said.

    The department urged people to stay home, posting photos of crumpled structures and debris and a message that those who have taken to the roads to see it are “making it very difficult for first responders who are rushing to help people who may be trapped in damaged homes and injured.”

    The Walton County Sheriff’s Office in the Florida Panhandle posted photos of power lines draped across a road, damage to a gas station and large pieces of building materials littering the area.

    The sheriff’s office posted a video of a severe storm hitting the area.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced it was closing early at 2 p.m. Tuesday due to the weather and would reopen Wednesday at 10 a.m.

    Heavy rain across Georgia stopped air traffic at Atlanta’s busy airport for a time Tuesday morning and caused flash flooding, blocking some lanes on freeways around Atlanta during the morning commute. More than 80 public school systems across Georgia called off classes entirely while others taught students online or delayed the start of in-person classes.

    More than 200,000 customers were without power in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia as of late Tuesday morning, according to the PowerOutage.us website.

    In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency before the storm approached so weight and size restrictions on large and heavy trucks containing emergency supplies or agricultural goods would be waived. Some schools were canceled or shut down early to avoid the threats from high winds and flooding.

    Meanwhile, in the Midwest, where a snowstorm started Monday, up to 12 inches of snow could blanket a broad area stretching from southeastern Colorado all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, including western Kansas, eastern Nebraska, large parts of Iowa, northern Missouri and northwestern Illinois, said Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    A person uses a snowblower to clear a sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa, as a snowstorm dumps several inches of snow on the area Jan. 9, 2024.
    A person uses a snowblower to clear a sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa, as a snowstorm dumps several inches of snow on the area Jan. 9, 2024.

    Joe Raedle/Getty Images


    The storm dumped around 8 to 12 inches of snow across Kansas, eastern Nebraska and South Dakota, western Iowa and southwestern Minnesota on Monday, with 15 inches at North Sioux City, South Dakota, the National Weather Service reported. Lower amounts fell over western Iowa, central Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

    It was the first major winter storm of the season for the Kansas City metro area in Kansas and Missouri, where the National Weather Service predicted 6 inches of snow by the time the storm moved on later Tuesday.

    From the Midwest, the storm was expected to head east, bringing a combination of snow, rain and strong winds to the Northeast by Tuesday night, as well as concerns about flooding in areas such as New England, parts of which got more than a foot of snow Sunday.

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy already declared a state of emergency ahead of what’s expected to be heavy rain and wind that will exacerbate the effects of bad weather conditions since December.

    “I would just say this is one I would strongly, strongly, strongly encourage folks to not underestimate,” he said at a news conference Monday.

    In New York, city officials began evacuating nearly 2,000 migrants who had been housed at a sprawling white tent complex at a former airport located in a remote corner of Brooklyn. An aide to New York City Mayor Eric pointed to predicted wind speeds of more than 70 mph Tuesday night.

    In western New York, an empty tractor trailer blew over on the state Thruway on Tuesday morning, temporarily blocking all westbound traffic, state police said. The state banned empty trucks and trailers on numerous major roadways.

    In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has delayed the opening of all state offices until noon Wednesday due to the storm.

    The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa’s Jan. 15 precinct caucuses, where the snow is expected to be followed by frigid temperatures that could drift below zero degrees.

    It forced former President Donald Trump‘s campaign to cancel multiple appearances by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had been scheduled to court Iowa voters on Trump’s behalf Monday.

    Whiteout conditions in central Nebraska closed a long stretch of Interstate 80, while Kansas closed Interstate 70 from the central city of Russell all the way west to the Colorado border due to dangerous travel conditions. Several vehicles slid off I-70 in the northeastern part of the state, authorities said.

    Madison, Wisconsin, was under a winter storm warning until early Wednesday, with as much as 9 inches of snow and 40 mph winds on tap.

    Northwestern Illinois was also under a winter storm warning with forecasts calling for 7 to 12 inches of snow by early Wednesday. The Chicago area as well as Gary, Indiana, were under winter storm advisories, with forecasts calling for up to 6 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 30 mph.

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  • Sprawling storm wallops US with tornado reports, damage and heavy snow, closing roads and schools

    Sprawling storm wallops US with tornado reports, damage and heavy snow, closing roads and schools

    DES MOINES, Iowa — A sprawling storm hit the South with tornado warnings and high winds that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow, stranding people on highways as it headed to the Northeast.

    At least three deaths in the South were attributed to the storm, where 55 mph (88 kph) winds and hail moved through the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Alabama and Georgia by sunrise Tuesday, along with at least several reports of radar-confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service said. A wind gust of 106 mph (171 kph) was recorded before dawn near the coast in Walton County, Florida.

    Near Cottonwood, Alabama, a small city near the Georgia and Florida borders, 81-year-old Charlotte Paschal was killed when her mobile home was tossed from its foundation, the Houston County coroner said. A suspected tornado had touched down in the area.

    Police in Clayton County, south of Atlanta, say a man died during heavy rain when a tree fell on his car on a state highway in Jonesboro.

    Storm-related injuries were reported in Florida, but no deaths. A section of Panama City Beach, Florida, showed parts of roofs blown away, furniture, fences and debris strewn about and a house that appeared tilted on side, leaning on another home.

    In Panama City, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away, police early Tuesday asked residents to stay indoors and off the roads “unless absolutely necessary” as officers checked on damage from the storms, including downed power lines and trees.

    The city is in Bay County, where there had been multiple reports of tornadoes on the ground, Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a brief Facebook Live post.

    “We’ve rescued people out of structures,” he said.

    The department urged people to stay home, posting photos of a damaged apartment complex and marina. The Walton County sheriff’s department in the Florida Panhandle posted photos of power lines draped across a road, damage to a gas station and large pieces of building materials littering the area. About 70 miles (112 kilometers) northeast, in Jackson County, Florida, photos showing damage to a campground and RV park in Marianna were posted.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who gave his State of the State address Tuesday as tornado warnings were active outside the Capitol, issued an executive order to include 49 counties in North Florida under a state of emergency from tornadoes.

    “Every government building except this one is closed in Tallahassee because of the weather,” DeSantis said at the start of the speech. “We just do what we do in Florida: We respond when these things happen … We’ll handle whatever fallout is from these dangerous tornadoes.”

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced it was closing early at 2 p.m. Tuesday due to the weather and would reopen Wednesday at 10 a.m.

    Heavy rain across Georgia stopped air traffic at Atlanta’s busy airport for a time Tuesday morning and caused flash flooding, blocking some lanes on freeways around Atlanta during the morning commute. More than 80 public school systems across Georgia called off classes entirely while others taught students online or delayed the start of in-person classes.

    More than 200,000 customers were without power in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, according to the PowerOutage.us website.

    In North Carolina, one person has died and two other people were in critical condition after a suspected tornado struck a mobile home park in the town of Claremont, which is north of Charlotte, according to Amy McCauley, a spokesperson for Catawba County. The county has also been dealing with downed trees and flooding.

    North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency before the storm approached so weight and size restrictions on large and heavy trucks containing emergency supplies or agricultural goods would be waived. Some schools were canceled or shut down early.

    Meanwhile, in the Midwest, where a snowstorm started Monday, up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow could blanket a broad area stretching from southeastern Colorado all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. That includes western Kansas, eastern Nebraska, large parts of Iowa, northern Missouri and northwestern Illinois, said Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    In Des Moines, Iowa, Laura Burianov had nearly finished shoveling her driveway Tuesday morning. But with snow still falling, she acknowledged she likely would have to shovel again later in the day.

    “It’s going to get harder. I shoveled last night and you can’t really tell, but I can pretend that three less inches makes a difference,” she said.

    Matt Stilwell’s street in Des Moines was still buried with more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow as a plow had not come through. But he had nearly cleared off his driveway and sidewalk.

    “I was out twice last night. With heavy snow such as this, I think it’s easier to chip away at it,” he said.

    The storm dumped around 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) of snow across Kansas, eastern Nebraska and South Dakota, western Iowa and southwestern Minnesota on Monday, with 15 inches (38 centimeters) at North Sioux City, South Dakota, the National Weather Service reported. Lower amounts fell over western Iowa, central Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

    Poor road conditions contributed to a fatal crash early Tuesday in southeastern Wisconsin, Jefferson County Sheriff Paul Milbrath said in a news release. An SUV driver was killed following a head-on collision with a semitrailer on state Highway 18 around 5:40 a.m. The driver of the semitrailer was not hurt. The drivers were the lone occupants of the vehicles.

    Sheriff’s Capt. Travis Maze said in a telephone interview that layers of slush and snow covered the center and fog lines on the highway. The National Weather Service said light snow was falling at the time with winds gusting up to 26 mph (42 kph).

    It was the first major winter storm of the season for the Kansas City metro area in Kansas and Missouri, where the National Weather Service predicted 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow by the time the storm moved on later Tuesday.

    From the Midwest, the storm was expected to head east, bringing a combination of snow, rain and strong winds to the Northeast by Tuesday night, as well as concerns about flooding in areas such as New England, parts of which got more than a foot of snow Sunday.

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy already declared a state of emergency as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, ahead of what’s expected to be heavy rain and wind that will exacerbate the effects of bad weather conditions since December.

    “I would just say this is one I would strongly, strongly, strongly encourage folks to not underestimate,” he said at a news conference Monday.

    In New York, city officials began evacuating nearly 2,000 migrants who had been housed at a sprawling white tent complex at a former airport located in a remote corner of Brooklyn. An aide to New York City Mayor Eric pointed to predicted wind speeds of more than 70 mph (112 kph) Tuesday night.

    In western New York, an empty tractor trailer blew over on the state Thruway on Tuesday morning, temporarily blocking all westbound traffic, state police said. The state banned empty trucks and trailers on numerous major roadways.

    In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has delayed the opening of all state offices until noon Wednesday due to the storm.

    The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa’s Jan. 15 precinct caucuses, where the snow is expected to be followed by frigid temperatures that could drift below zero degrees (minus 18 Celsius).

    It forced former President Donald Trump’s campaign to cancel multiple appearances by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had been scheduled to court Iowa voters on Trump’s behalf Monday.

    Whiteout conditions in central Nebraska closed a long stretch of Interstate 80, while Kansas closed Interstate 70 from the central city of Russell all the way west to the Colorado border due to dangerous travel conditions. Several vehicles slid off I-70 in the northeastern part of the state, authorities said.

    Madison, Wisconsin, was under a winter storm warning until early Wednesday, with as much as 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow and 40 mph (64 kph) winds on tap.

    Northwestern Illinois was also under a winter storm warning with forecasts calling for 7 to 12 inches (18 to 30 centimeters) of snow by early Wednesday. The Chicago area as well as Gary, Indiana, were under winter storm advisories, with forecasts calling for up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow and wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 kph).

    ___

    McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Contributing to this report are Associated Press writers Curtis Anderson, Brendan Farrington and Freida Frisaro in Florida; Jeff Amy and Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Ken Miller in Edmund, Oklahoma; Nicholas Ingram in Kansas City, Missouri; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Phil Marcelo in New York; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; and Ron Todt in Philadelphia.

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  • Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear calls for unity in GOP-leaning Kentucky to uplift economy, education

    Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear calls for unity in GOP-leaning Kentucky to uplift economy, education

    FRANKFORT, Ky. — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reached across the partisan divide Wednesday night to urge a unified effort with Republican lawmakers to uplift education, health care and the economy, saying Kentucky has an opportunity to assert itself as an “economic and a moral leader.”

    Beshear, who raised his national profile by winning reelection last year in the GOP-leaning state, renewed his pitch for higher salaries for teachers, state-backed pre-K education for every 4-year-old, increased funding for roads and bridges and efforts to meet the state’s health needs.

    Touting a record pace of economic development, the governor said Kentucky has an unprecedented opportunity to build a top 10 economy offering the security of good-paying jobs. Noting that he’s now term-limited, the governor said it’s a chance to set politics aside. It’s an acknowledgement that he needs support from GOP legislative supermajorities to pass his priorities.

    “This is our chance to push away the division,” Beshear said in his annual State of the Commonwealth speech. “To prove that we can govern without name-calling or scapegoating. To do it without anger, without fear and without hatred. That we can not only talk about our collective faith, we can live it.”

    Beshear had frequent policy clashes with Republican lawmakers during his first term, and prospects are uncertain for there to be less friction in the legislative session that just convened this week.

    The governor called for a renewal of the unity that prevailed in the response to deadly tornadoes that hit western Kentucky in late 2021, followed by massive flooding that swamped eastern parts of the state in the summer of 2022.

    “How we dealt with these historic challenges wasn’t red or blue,” Beshear said. “It wasn’t ‘R’ or ‘D.’ It was just us, Team Kentucky, where everybody matters.”

    The governor focused on his immediate priorities in the current legislative session but also took a longer view at the start of his second term.

    “Improving life right here at home is the most important focus we can have,” Beshear said. “And these next four years are our chance — Kentucky’s chance — to be the difference, to be both an economic and a moral leader in this country.”

    The governor outlined his wish list for the next two-year state budget in a televised speech last month. He reiterated those priorities Wednesday night, calling for an 11% pay raise for teachers and all other public school employees and the funding for pre-K.

    Beshear called it unacceptable that Kentucky ranks 44th nationally in average starting teacher pay and 40th in average teacher pay. The governor has previously said the pay increase would lift Kentucky to the middle of the pack nationally in both categories.

    In pitching his pre-K initiative, he said: “We are rightfully concerned about learning loss. So we should address it where it begins.”

    Beshear’s pre-K proposal made no headway with lawmakers in the past, and top Republicans signaled again Wednesday that such resistance appears unchanged.

    “I don’t think there’s much appetite in our chamber for it,” House Speaker David Osborne said.

    The governor also made another pitch for child care assistance, with funding to help cushion child care programs from the loss of pandemic-era federal subsidies, and called for another massive infusion of funding for transportation and clean water projects.

    Republican Senate President Robert Stivers echoed Osborne’s remarks about the governor’s pre-K plan but said in a post-speech interview on Kentucky Educational Television that there’s a “strong desire to look at how we create day care for the working-class people.”

    Passing the next budget will be the top priority for lawmakers in this year’s 60-day legislative session.

    Osborne said Wednesday that the House budget plan will likely be unveiled in the next week or two.

    “I expect it to be built largely like we’ve built the last several budgets, which is to find places that we feel like that we can invest people’s money wisely but also remain very fiscally responsible,” he said.

    The governor said a commitment to meet the mental and physical health needs of Kentuckians is an investment not only to improve lives but to bolster the state’s workforce.

    “We need all of our people healthy enough to be a part of this future and the prosperity it will bring,” he said. “So let’s continue to expand access to quality health care for all of our people.”

    To bolster law enforcement, Beshear called for increased pay for Kentucky State Police troopers and officers. He proposed an increase in the training stipend for local law enforcement officers and requested $35 million to fund grants for body armor.

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  • Storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

    Storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

    NEW YORK — A storm barreled up the East Coast on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees in the Northeast, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, and forcing flight cancelations and school closures.

    More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain had fallen in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts in several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.

    Power was knocked out for more than 600,000 customers in an area stretching from Virginia north through New England, including over 237,000 in Massachusetts and 141,000 in Maine, according to poweroutage.us. Maine’s largest utility, Central Maine Power, reported that 17% of its customers were without power.

    In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills said all state offices would close for the afternoon.

    “With the storm expected to grow stronger in the coming hours, I encourage all Maine people to be safe and vigilant and to exercise caution when traveling,” she said in a statement.

    The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and parts of New Hampshire and Maine.

    Trees and power lines fell in many areas, including some that landed on homes and cars. In the coastal town of Guilford, Connecticut, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Hartford, a tree fell on a police cruiser but the officer escaped injury, officials said. Certain roads throughout the region were closed due to flooding or downed trees.

    Heavy rain and high tides caused flooding along the Jersey Shore, leading authorities to block off roads near Barnegat Bay in Bay Head and Mantoloking. The flooding was made worse by leaf piles that residents had put out for collection but was blocking water from reaching drains.

    In northeastern and central Pennsylvania, heavy rain that fell overnight flooded ponds, streams and creeks in several counties, forcing authorities to close several major roadways.

    The Delaware River spilled over its banks in suburban Philadelphia, leading to road closures. In the suburb of Washington Crossing, crews placed barriers along roadways and worked to clear fallen tree limbs. Seven people died after flash flooding in that area over the summer.

    Many flights were cancelled or delayed across the region. Boston’s Logan International Airport grounded all flights Monday morning because of the poor conditions, leading to more than 100 canceled flights and about 375 delays, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. At New York City area airports, nearly 80 flights were canceled and more than 90 were delayed.

    In Rhode Island, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed parts of Providence’s hurricane barrier system to prevent flooding from storm surge, Mayor Brett Smiley said. The Providence River gates were closed in the morning and another gate was scheduled to close. City Hall in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was closed due to leaks and water damage from its landmark tower, the city posted online.

    Some schools canceled classes, sent students home early or delayed their openings due to the storm. Among them were schools in Vermont that closed early. A numbers of roads were also closed around the state due to flooding, including in Ludlow, the southern Vermont community that was hit hard by flooding in July.

    Commuter rail systems were reporting weather-related delays.

    “Take mass transit and stay off the roads if possible,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams wrote on X.

    In New York City, high winds caused the temporary closure of the Verrazzano Bridge. It reopened later Monday morning, but with a ban on large vehicles. Rhode Island officials also were prohibiting tractor-trailers on the Newport Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges over Narragansett Bay because of the wind.

    State government officials urged people to avoid traveling and driving on flooded roads.

    In western New York, several inches (centimeters) of lake-effect snow were expected Monday night into Tuesday as temperatures drop.

    The storm moved up the East Coast on Saturday and Sunday, breaking rainfall records and requiring water rescues. It brought unseasonably warm temperatures of more than 60 degrees (16 degrees Celsius) to the Northeast on Monday.

    In South Carolina on Sunday, the tide in Charleston Harbor reached 9.86 feet (3 meters) just before noon, which was the fourth-highest reading ever.

    “This was a tough and frustrating day for our citizens, as historic high tides came up and over the land in the city, flooding cars, homes, businesses and streets,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said, adding there were no reports of serious injuries.

    Tecklenburg said the city is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect against tidal flooding and to adapt to sea level rise and climate change.

    Monday’s rain and wind came a week after a storm caused flooding and power outages in the Northeast after spawning deadly tornadoes in Tennessee.

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  • Photos show devastation caused by deadly tornadoes in Tennessee

    Photos show devastation caused by deadly tornadoes in Tennessee

    Deadly tornadoes ripped through Tennessee on Saturday, claiming the lives of six people, including two children, and injuring more than 50 others, according to preliminary reports.

    Severe weather pummeled west and middle Tennessee with 13 tornadoes reported in the state, including two deadly storms that caused widespread damage and thousands of power outages, according to The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

    One deadly tornado in Clarksville tore through hundreds of structures, leaving at least three people dead and causing numerous injuries in its wake. Roughly 50 miles away in the Nashville suburb of Madison, another powerful storm also killed at least three people when a mobile home was tossed and landed on top of a neighboring one.

    Residents and visitors work to clear debris in search of pets and belongings of a destroyed home in the aftermath of a tornado that ripped through in Clarksville, Tennessee, on December 9, 2023.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    Clarksville

    The tornado that devastated Clarksville was rated EF3 intensity with peak winds of 150 mph and traveled about an 11-mile path and, according to a Sunday storm survey by the Nashville office of the National Weather Service (NWS).

    Officials confirmed three deaths in the area and said 62 people were being treated for injuries at local hospitals. Details about the Clarksville victims were not released at the time of publication.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    A destroyed home is pictured in the wake of a deadly tornado that ripped through Clarksville, Tennessee, on December 9, 2023.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) released a preliminary damage report for Clarksville on Sunday, stating that 65 structures have minor damage, 339 have moderate damage, and 271 have major damage “making them uninhabitable. “

    “There are 91 structures that are totally destroyed based on the latest assessment from EMA,” the agency reported. “The vast majority of these structures are residential dwellings. Numbers continue to be gathered.”

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    Homes were destroyed by a deadly EF3 tornado on December 9, 2023, in Clarksville, Tennessee.
    Clarksville Fire Rescue

    Search and rescue efforts in Montgomery County city were completed on Sunday evening, according to a statement by the Clarksville Police Department (CPD) sharing volunteer information.

    “The recovery phase is underway,” CPD said. “We appreciate your willingness to volunteer as we help our neighbors through this traumatic and historic event.”

    There will be a coordinated volunteer cleanup effort in areas with extensive tornado damage on Monday at 8 a.m., Clarksville officials said, adding that volunteers are asked to gather at Mosaic Church located at 1020 Garrettsburg Road, according to the CPD.

    Newsweek reached out via email and social media on Sunday to the CPD for comment and update.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    Crews assess and search the rubble left by the deadly EF3 tornado that ravaged Clarksville, Tennessee, killing at least three people.
    Clarksville Fire Rescue

    Madison

    The tornado that ravaged Madison was rated EF2 intensity with peak winds of 125 mph, according to the NWS.

    In the city north of Nashville, a tornado killed 37-year-old Joseph Dalton, 31-year-old Floridema Gabriel Pérez and her 2-year-old son, Anthony Elmer Mendez, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD).

    Dalton was inside his mobile home when the storm launched it on top of Pérez’s residence, police said, adding that two other children were taken to a hospital with injuries.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    In an aerial view, a mobile home park where three people perished is pictured in the aftermath of a tornado on December 9, 2023 in Madison, Tennessee.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    As of Sunday, dozens of people were injured in the Nashville area, city officials said. A church north of downtown collapsed during the storm, resulting in 13 people being hospitalized, the Nashville Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. Those injured at the church were later listed in stable condition.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    A single standing wall of the nave of Sabbath Day Church of God in Christ is seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Madison, Tennessee. Multiple long-track tornadoes were reported in northwest Tennessee on December 9, causing multiple deaths and injuries and widespread damage.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said during a press conference that more than 20 structures had collapsed in the area as a result of Saturday’s storm and that “countless others have sustained significant damage.”

    Additional information about injuries and structural damage was not available at the time of publication.

    Newsweek reached out via email on Sunday to the MNPD for comment and update.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    Ronald Harris searches the office of Sabbath Day Church of God in Christ in the aftermath of a tornado on December 10, 2023, in Madison, Tennessee.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    Nashville Electric Service executive Teresa Broyles-Aplin told the Associated Press that electric substations in north Nashville and in nearby Hendersonville suffered significant damage and that outages could last days for some residents.

    Broyles-Aplin said it was possible that the viral video showing a massive fireball during the storm on Saturday could have been caused by Nashville Electric equipment.

    “That gives you a good idea of the extent of damage that we’re dealing with at some of these substations,” she told the AP.

    Tennessee Tornado Damage
    A destroyed home is seen in the aftermath of a tornado on December 10, 2023, in Madison, Tennessee.
    Jon Cherry/Getty

    A jaw-dropping aerial video shared by MNPD on X, formerly Twitter, shows buildings in Madison reduced to rubble.

    “MNPD Aviation flew over the storm damage this morning in Madison,” the department posted on X. “This is above the scene on Nesbitt Lane where 3 people, including a child, were fatally injured. Be advised there are still several road closures in that area where downed power lines/poles are awaiting repair.”