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U.S. NEWS Thursday 2 March 2017
Deadly storm in Midwest sounded like ‘explosion of glass’

JIM SALTER Operations Center tweet-
Associated Press ed that damage to power
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A deadly lines and trees indicated
spring-like storm that one Il- that another tornado may
linois resident described as have touched down in the
sounding like “an explosion city.
of glass” damaged or de- A tornado is suspected of
stroyed hundreds of homes damaging several homes
in that state and others, and a church building in
blew cars off a major Mis- Ireland, Indiana. No inju-
souri highway and forced ries were reported but one
people in an Arkansas woman had to be rescued
town to huddle for safety in from a partially collapsed
a high school. home.
Tornadoes were blamed Strong winds elsewhere
in three deaths amid a in the Plains spread wild-
large swath of destruction fires in Texas. Four homes
through the central U.S. were destroyed near Tu-
before rumbling eastward. lia, about 50 miles south of
Forecasters said up to 95 Amarillo, before firefight-
million people are poten- ers beat back the flames.
tially in the storm’s path as Texas A&M Forest Service
it moves toward the mid- spokesman Phillip Truitt
Atlantic states and south- Randy Preston gathers valuables out of his brother-in-law’s car in Perryville, Mo., Wednesday, said the fire prompted the
ern New England. Fore- March 1, 2017, the day after a tornado damaged or destroyed several homes and businesses in evacuation of almost 1,200
town.
casters said cities including (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) homes. q
New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Atlanta and speed has not been esti-
Washington, D.C., could mated. Officials believe it
be at risk. Officials in Ar- was on the ground for 13 to
kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illi- 15 miles, crossing the Missis-
nois, Michigan and Missouri sippi River into Illinois.
were assessing damage National Weather Service
after storms Tuesday night Storm Prediction Cen-
and early Wednesday. ter meteorologist Patrick
In southern Illinois, an ap- Marsh said crews are still
parent tornado near the determining how many
town of Crossville killed a twisters touched down
71-year-old man and in- across the central U.S.
jured his wife, White County “That’s why we saw storms
Coroner Chris Marsh said. more representative of late
In Missouri, a twister March and April,” Marsh
touched down Tuesday said. “The atmosphere
night, blowing several ve- doesn’t care what the cal-
hicles off of Interstate 55 endar says.”
near Perryville, 65 miles Northeast of Little Rock, Ar-
southeast of St. Louis. A kansas, emergency man-
24-year-old man from Per- agers said about 40 homes
ryville was thrown from one were damaged and 10
of the vehicles and died, to 15 people were injured
Missouri State Highway near Higginson, while ad-
Patrol Cpl. Juston Wheet- ditional minor injuries were
ley said. The wind was so reported at a state prison
strong that it lifted crum- near Newport. Hundreds of
pled cars from a nearby people, including school-
salvage yard and tossed children, had to take shelter
them along the highway. at Bald Knob High School,
Nearly 110 homes in the which was hosting a state
Perryville area were dam- basketball tournament.
aged or destroyed and 12 Games were delayed until
people suffered minor inju- the storm passed. Torna-
ries, Perryville Fire Chief Jer- does may have touched
emy Triller said.“I feel we’re down Wednesday in and
very blessed and fortunate near Nashville, Tennessee.
we didn’t have a higher Weather service meteo-
fatality number with this rologist Sam Herron cited
terrible disaster,” Triller said. numerous reports of scat-
Meteorologist Rick Shank- tered damage across cen-
lin of the National Weather tral Tennessee and a possi-
Service said the Missouri ble tornado near the Cool
twister was a “strong tor- Springs mall south of Nash-
nado,” but the actual wind ville. The city’s Emergency