Govind Tekale
Several communities in the state of Iowa wake up this Wednesday to take a look at the debris of what was left of their homes, in addition to mourning the death of neighbors who lost their lives after several tornadoes battered the Midwest on Tuesday and now threaten a wider swath.
Numerous deaths and several injuries have been reported in the city of Greenfield, Iowa, about 50 miles from Des Moines, after a tornado tore through, destroying the community on Tuesday night, explained the spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol, Sergeant Alex Dinkla.
Tuesday saw multiple tornado reports in Iowa, part of a torrent of storms that have caused widespread power outages, structural damage, and flooding in various parts of the United States this week. At least 80,000 homes and businesses remained without power in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as of Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. More power outages are expected as the storms move east.
For this Wednesday, the threat of severe storms slightly weakened, but it is expected to trigger strong wind gusts, hail, and some tornadoes along a wide 1,500-mile stretch from Texas to western Vermont. “On Wednesday, Severe thunderstorms with the potential for damaging gusts and hail will occur in central Texas through the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes area on Wednesday. The greatest risk of damaging hail and wind is in north Texas, across the Ozarks,,” indicated the Storm Prediction Center. Some hurricanes could hit from Texas to Arkansas, but hail and powerful winds are likely anywhere along the storm’s path.
The biggest impacts will be felt from central Texas to southeastern Oklahoma and central Arkansas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Little Rock. Hail larger than 2 inches in diameter, wind gusts up to 74 mph, and some tornadoes could occur. Although the risk is lower on Wednesday, cities like Nashville, St. Louis, Memphis, Cleveland, Tulsa, and Columbus should also be on alert for strong storms.
“Supercells capable of producing destructive hail and isolated tornado threat appear likely across a large part of central and northern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma into western Arkansas! Enhanced risk from the SPC for this region.” posted Reed Timmer, PhD, meteorologist documenting and studying extreme weathers on field.
Similar Posts
Meanwhile, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued an emergency proclamation due to the disaster left in 15 counties, as a powerful line of storms caused unusual and elevated tornado alerts in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Western Iowa was the hardest hit and bore the brunt of the catastrophic impacts of the storms.
Strong wind gusts and possible tornadoes destroyed buildings in Greenfield, toppled a large wind turbine in Prescott, and reduced several neighbors’ homes to rubble. In this regard, in addition to the reported deaths in Greenfield, at least one other person lost their life when the storms passed through Adams County, local authorities said. More than two dozen homes were damaged or devastated in Montgomery County, including some “critical public facilities,” emergency management officials said. No injuries have been reported, but damage assessments are still ongoing.
