Tornadoes and thunderstorms packing high winds cut a swath of destruction through the US Midwest, bringing to at least seven the death toll from two days of storms, emergency and police officials say.
The National Weather Service said there were reports of 87 tornadoes in the region over the last 24 hours, most of them in Indiana and Illinois and some also in Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa. That followed reports of 93 tornadoes on Saturday in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
It was the first big outbreak of tornadoes of the season, when the United States normally sees a spate of tornadoes, National Weather Service forecaster John Hart said. The peak season usually begins in March and ends in early July.
The three confirmed deaths from the latest storms yesterday and early today were in Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee.
Dozens of people were injured by the storms, including at least 21 admitted to hospitals in Tennessee, Brannom said. Tens of thousands of people were without electric power across the region because of the storms, officials said. Heavy rains could worsen flooding along some rivers in the upper Midwest, particularly Illinois and Wisconsin.