DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Multiple tornadoes touched down in Iowa and Illinois on Friday, days after a deadly tornado outbreak, and storms downed power lines and trees. Destroyed a small town.
The powerful storms began overnight in Nebraska and moved across central Iowa and into Illinois. A weak tornado touched down just outside Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service. The service is also investigating damage from several other tornadoes reported south of Iowa City and near Moline, Illinois. No injuries or deaths were reported.
The storm has brought heavy rain to parts of Iowa, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rainfall in the past week, according to the weather service.
Also on Friday, a church in Madison, Wisconsin, caught fire after a thunderstorm ripped through the area. Nate Mohr, who lives two doors down from Holy Redemptor Catholic Church, said he heard a “crackling” electrical noise followed by a loud boom of thunder. Firefighters put out the blaze.
In Oklahoma, tornadoes shook Jackson County and neighboring counties for about an hour Thursday evening as the slow-moving storm passed through, according to Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla. News outlets reported downed power lines, power outages and damage to several buildings.
Severe weather is expected across much of the U.S. over the long Memorial Day weekend, with the Great Plains of Kansas and Oklahoma especially at risk for tornadoes on Saturday, while high winds and low humidity could spark wildfires in New Mexico.
“If you’re planning on spending time outdoors it’s really important to stay alert for approaching thunderstorms,” said Matt Elliott, a meteorologist in charge of warning coordination at the Met Office’s Storm Prediction Centre.
“May is the most common month for tornadoes and severe weather across the United States,” Elliott said.
The latest severe weather was reported by residents of Greenfield, Iowa, a town of about 2,000. A powerful tornado occurred on Tuesday. Friday’s storm brought heavy rain, dime-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 75 mph (121 kph). A tornado destroyed more than 100 homes and struck a nearby road, killing four people and injuring 35. Wind Farm.
Among those who died were Dean and Pam Wiggins, said grandson Tom Wiggins.
On Thursday, he tried to search for keepsakes from his grandparents whose home was destroyed by the tornado and little remains except for the foundations, which he described as “incredibly loved not only by our family but by the whole town.”
A short distance away, Bill Yount was cleaning.
“It looks like someone took a bomb,” Yount said, pointing to the ground, which was littered with lumber, rubble, defoliated trees, heavy machinery and cleanup equipment.
He waited out the storm in his closet.
The National Weather Service determined that three separate, powerful tornadoes traveled a combined 130-mile (209-kilometer) path across Iowa on Tuesday.
Saturday’s storms could bring very large hail in addition to tornadoes, according to Elliott of the Storm Prediction Center. The risk of strong tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds will move into parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky on Sunday. Severe thunderstorms are expected across the Mid-Atlantic region on Monday.
Elliott said the risk of tornadoes increases in May as cool, dry air occasionally moves in from Canada and collides with warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and strong upper-level winds in the atmosphere.
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O’Malley reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Rick Callahan in Indianapolis contributed.
