At least seven people died and authorities were searching from building to building for people who were trapped or hurt after severe storms including at least one possible tornado swept through Missouri.
The storms were part of a severe weather system Friday that caused severe damage in Missouri, spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left hundreds of thousands without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.
The storms Friday afternoon tore roofs off buildings, blew out windows, ripped bricks off siding and yanked up trees and power lines. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected and about 100,000 customers remained without electricity on Friday night.
“This is truly, truly devastating,” Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency and an overnight curfew Friday had been put into place in the neighborhoods with the most damage.
The number of people injured was not immediately known. Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, according to hospital spokesperson Laura High.
St. Louis Children's Hospital received 15 patients with two of them expected to remain in the hospital into the weekend, The Associated Press quoted her as saying.
National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year.
At Centennial Christian Church, City of St. Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press that three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled. One of those people died.
A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.
“Our first responders acted swiftly, even while the tornado was still active, putting themselves in harm’s way to provide immediate assistance and care to those injured,” he said.
Weather forecasters warned severe storms with possible tornadoes, hail and even hurricane-force winds could hobble parts of Appalachia and the Midwest on Friday.
The weather service warned of a rare tornado emergency around Marion, Illinois, on Friday evening, saying a tornado had been confirmed and was life-threatening. Reports of damage and injuries were not immediately available.
A dust storm warning was issued around the Chicago area Friday night. The weather service said a wall of dust extended along a 100-mile (161-kilometer) line from southwest of Chicago to northern Indiana that severely reduced visibility.
The National Weather Service said residents in Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, parts of Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Ohio should brace for intense storms that could include baseball-sized hail.
The weather service's Storm Prediction Center said “strong, potentially long-track tornadoes and very large hail” could be expected. and the threat for damaging winds in excess of 75 mph (120 kph) would increase into Friday evening as storms grew into larger clusters.
Ahead of Friday night’s anticipated storm, Appalachian Power, which serves 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, said it requested 1,700 additional workers from neighboring utilities along with sending its own crews from unaffected areas to assist with service restoration.
Faith Borden, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service Nashville office, said Friday that middle Tennessee could expect "all types of severe weather. Winds up to 70 mph. We’re talking seriously large hail up to 3 inches, which for us is big hail.”
Texas faced searing heat. A heat advisory was issued for San Antonio and Austin, with temperatures at a blistering 95 F (35 C) to 105 (40.5 C). Parts of the southern East Coast, from Virginia to Florida, battled with heat in the 90s (32-37 C).
The National Weather Service Office for Austin/San Antonio said Friday the humidity coming in over the weekend was expected to make temperatures feel hotter.
“There are concerns of heat exhaustion for people that aren’t taking proper precautions when they’re outdoors,” meteorologist Jason Runyen said, advising those affected to take breaks and stay hydrated.
Overnight Thursday, storms accompanied by booming thunder, lightning displays and powerful winds swept through parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, northern Indiana and Michigan, leaving scores of trees down and thousands of homes without power.
Several tornadoes touched down Thursday in central Wisconsin. None of the twisters had received ratings Thursday, said Timm Uhlmann, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Green Bay.
“We’re still gathering reports,” Uhlmann said. “We’re assessing some of the damage and still getting video and pictures. The damage that we have is fairly widespread. There was a lot of large hail. In Eau Claire was one report of softball-sized hail.”
No injuries were immediately reported.
