Tornado kills multiple people in Iowa as powerful storms again tear through Midwest

GREENFIELD, Iowa -- Multiple radical were killed erstwhile a tornado tore done Greenfield and near a wide swath of obliterated homes, crumpled cars and splintered trees, portion extracurricular the tiny town, monolithic upwind turbines were buckled and twisted to the crushed by the howling winds.

After devastating the municipality of 2,000 residents, the storms moved eastward to pummel parts of Illinois and Wisconsin, knocking retired powerfulness to much than 130,000 customers successful the 2 states.

Greenfield's infirmary was among the buildings that were damaged successful the town, which meant that astatine slightest a twelve radical who were wounded had to beryllium taken to facilities elsewhere, according to Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla.

"Sadly we tin corroborate that determination person been fatalities," Dinkla said astatine a quality league Tuesday night, without specifying however many. "We're inactive counting astatine this time."

He said helium thought they had accounted for each of the town's residents but that searches would proceed if anyone was reported missing. The Adair County Health System said successful a Facebook station Tuesday nighttime that it had acceptable up a triage halfway astatine the Greenfield precocious schoolhouse and that radical who request aesculapian attraction should spell there.

The tornado destroyed overmuch of Greenfield, which is located astir 55 miles (90 kilometers) southwest of Des Moines, during a time that saw aggregate tornadoes, elephantine hail and dense rainfall successful respective states.

Authorities announced a mandatory curfew for the municipality and said they would lone let residents to participate Greenfield until Wednesday morning. They besides ordered media representatives to permission the metropolis Tuesday night.

In the aftermath of the storm, mounds of breached wood from homes, branches, car parts and different debris littered tons wherever homes erstwhile stood. Some trees inactive lasting were stripped of their limbs and leaves. Residents helped each different salvage furnishings and different belongings that were strewn successful each direction.

Rogue Paxton said helium sheltered successful the basement of his location erstwhile the tempest moved through. He told WOI-TV helium thought the location was mislaid but said his household got lucky.

"But everyone other is not truthful much, similar my member Cody, his location conscionable got wiped," Paxton said. "Then you spot each these radical retired present helping each other. ... Everything's going to beryllium good due to the fact that we person each other, but it's conscionable going to beryllium really, truly rough. It is simply a mess."

Multiple tornadoes were reported passim the state, and 1 besides seemingly took down respective 250-foot (76-meter) upwind turbines successful southwest Iowa. Some of the turbines caught fire, sending plumes of fume into the air.

Wind farms are built to withstand tornadoes, hurricanes and different almighty winds. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, turbines are designed to unopen disconnected erstwhile winds transcend definite thresholds, typically astir 55 mph (89 kph). They besides fastener and feather their blades and crook into the wind, to minimize the strain.

Greenfield bills itself connected its website arsenic a "friendly question arsenic you walk" benignant of spot with tree-lined streets - earlier the tempest - and arsenic the "perfect spot to grow."

Mary Long, the proprietor of Long's Market successful downtown Greenfield, said she rode retired the tempest astatine her concern successful the community's historical municipality square, which mostly escaped damage. Long said determination appeared to beryllium wide harm connected the eastbound and southbound sides of town.

"I could perceive this roaring, similar the proverbial freight train, and past it was conscionable done," she said.

Camille Blair said the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce bureau wherever she works closed astir 2 p.m. up of the storm.

"I tin spot from my location it benignant of went successful a consecutive enactment down the road," she said of the tornado.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she planned to sojourn Greenfield connected Wednesday morning.

"It was conscionable a fewer weeks agone that tornadoes deed respective different Iowa communities, and it's hard to judge that it's happened again," she said successful a statement. "Iowans are beardown and resilient, and we volition get done this together."

In southwestern Iowa, video posted to societal media showed a tornado conscionable northwest of Red Oak. Farther eastbound and north, the National Weather Service issued aggregate tornado warnings for areas adjacent the towns of Griswold, Corning, Fontanelle and Guthrie Center, among others.

Iowa was braced for terrible upwind aft the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center gave astir of the authorities a precocious accidental of seeing terrible thunderstorms with the imaginable for beardown tornadoes. Des Moines nationalist schools ended classes 2 hours aboriginal and canceled evening activities.

The storms and tornado warnings moved into Wisconsin Tuesday evening and night, including a informing for the capital, Madison.

Earlier successful the day, residents to the westbound successful Omaha, Nebraska, awoke to sirens blaring and wide powerfulness outages arsenic torrential rain, precocious winds and ample hail pummeled the area. The deluge flooded basements and submerged cars. Television presumption KETV showed firefighters rescuing radical from vehicles.

In Illinois, particulate storms led authorities to unopen down stretches of 2 interstates owed to debased visibility. Winds gusts of up to 45 mph (74 kph) deed the McLean area, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Schaffer.

The storms followed days of utmost upwind that person ravaged overmuch of the mediate conception of the country. Strong winds, ample hail and tornadoes swept parts of Oklahoma and Kansas precocious Sunday, damaging homes and injuring 2 successful Oklahoma.

Another circular of storms Monday nighttime raked Colorado and occidental Nebraska and saw the metropolis of Yuma, Colorado, blanketed successful hail the size of baseballs and play balls, turning streets into rivers of h2o and ice.

In Texas, deadly storms deed the Houston country past week, sidesplitting astatine slightest 8 people. Those storms Thursday knocked retired powerfulness to hundreds of thousands for days, leaving galore successful the acheronian and without aerial conditioning during blistery and humid weather. The full of deaths was raised Tuesday from 7 to see a antheral who died from c monoxide poisoning portion moving a generator aft his powerfulness went out. Hurricane-force winds reduced businesses and different structures to debris and shattered solid successful downtown skyscrapers.

Bob Oravec, pb forecaster with the National Weather Service, said the strategy is expected to crook southbound Wednesday, bringing much terrible upwind to parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and confederate Missouri.

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McFetridge reported from Des Moines and Beck reported from Omaha. Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski successful Minneapolis, Josh Funk successful Omaha, Colleen Slevin successful Denver and Juan Lozano successful Houston contributed.