Severe Weather: Tornadoes in Midwest, at Least Two Dead
DES MOINES, Iowa- APRIL 10, 2015 (UPI) — Two women who were neighbors have died and several others were injured and property was damaged Thursday after severe weather sent multiple tornadoes rolling through the Midwest, officials said.
Twisters touched down in Iowa, Illinois and Ohio on Thursday — one day after at least eight others were recorded in the region. One person died in the Illinois town of Fairdale, an emergency management official said in a CNN report.
Rockford, Ill., fire officials tweeted Thursday that many structures in town had been damaged.
Elsewhere, injuries and property damage were reported as a result of the severe weather pattern that forecasters have called “large” and “extremely dangerous.” A woman reportedly died in Indianapolis on Wednesday after being whisked away by a flash flood.
At around 5:45 p.m. local time, a severe tornado touched down in eastern Iowa and western Illinois — traveling at speeds up to 40 miles per hour, CNN reported. The National Weather Service advised residents in the region to be aware of rapidly changing weather conditions.
Meteorologists predicted that nearly 100 million residents of the Midwest might be affected by the weather pattern moving across the Great Plains, Missouri Valley and Southern Great Lakes areas this week. Tornadoes are also possible in Louisiana and Arkansas, forecasters said.
A video was captured at the birth of the tornado showing the very beginning of this massive storm.
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The weather forced the cancellation of more than 800 flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and delayed hundreds more, USA Today reported late Thursday.
A tornado warning was also issued for parts of Chicago late Thursday, ABC 7 reported.
Another tornado reportedly was spotted about 70 miles outside St. Louis, officials said. The storm system, forecasters said, will continue to move further east and arrive in states likeTennessee.
The National Weather Service has a new “Severe Weather Preparedness Toolkit” you can download on your smart phone on their website.
