Tornado Alley earns its name: Storms roar in
Little relief was in sight Sunday for nine states where violent storms and tornadoes damaged and destroyed homes, flipped cars and downed power lines this weekend.
The storms, including 31 reported tornadoes, and flash flooding raked across parts of Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told USA TODAY.
The angry weather roared through the heartland just one week after a line of storms and tornadoes blasted the nation's Tornado Alley, killing five people in Arkansas and Texas. Thus far this weekend, however, no deaths or injuries had been reported.
In beleaguered Johnson County, Texas, just south of Dallas-Fort Worth, authorities reported "multiple swift-water rescues" from homes and vehicles, some with National Guard assistance. The county already had been under a disaster declaration after several tornadoes touched down there April 26.
"Crews have responded to 10 water rescues, three are on going to include one down in Rio Vista," the county emergency management department tweeted early Sunday. And hours later: "The last rescue was complete by Texas Military Forces. There are no pending rescue calls."
A National Guard helicopter plucked Bill Kastel and his wife to safety after their mobile home was swamped by floodwaters, WFAA-TV reported.
"My wife looked out the window and said, "Oh my God, the water's under the house!'" Bill Kastel told WFAA Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus. "We've been living here for 20-25 years, and we never experienced any flooding like this... My wife says, 'What are you gonna do, cry?'"
Tornadoes were reported early Sunday in Iowa and Louisiana as a line of storms ripped down the middle of the nation from Minnesota to Texas, The Weather Channel reported.
"The severe weather threat is moving farther north," Kines said Sunday. "The primary threat will be wind and hail in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, probably down into Arkansas late Sunday. And I'm sure there will be tornadoes."
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center warned of an "enhanced risk of severe weather in the Midwest" as the day progressed. "Large hail, damaging winds, and perhaps a few tornadoes are possible, especially from southeastern Minnesota into northern Illinois," the weather service warned.
On Saturday, Oklahoma was the primary target for the storms. Homes, businesses and power lines their took the brunt of the havoc, with tornadoes were reported in Broken Arrow, Tulsa and Tipton. The National Weather Service said several other possible tornadoes were being investigated. Parts of the state saw hail the size of baseballs.
Bill Bunting, chief of operations for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, told the Associated Press on Sunday that flash floods remained a concern in some areas in the wake of previous storms. He said damaging straight-line winds up to 60 mph were also a feature of the system in some areas.
"We are seeing pockets of damaging winds from Missouri south to northeast Oklahoma," Bunting said by phone early Sunday. "It's a very strong upper level disturbance. It's as extensive an area as we've seen this year."
Contributing: WFAA-TV Dallas-Fort Worth