Eastern U.S. braces for storm system that pummeled Midwest
ST. LOUIS -- The spring-like storm system that spawned tornadoes in the Midwest that destroyed more than 100 homes and killed three people is rumbling eastward, putting about 95 million people in its path, forecasters said Wednesday.
Forecasters with the Storm Prediction Center said the storm system appeared headed toward the mid-Atlantic states and southern New England. They say the storms are more typical of late March and April -- but they’re springing up in regions that have seen unusually warm weather for this time of year.
“The atmosphere doesn’t care what the calendar says,” said meteorologist Patrick Marsh at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.
Areas ranging from New York to Atlanta could be affected as the storms move east.
Marsh said the strong storm system moved from the Mountain West and collided on Tuesday with warm and humid air in the central U.S., which has enjoyed an unusually warm winter. Temperatures were well into the 70s in many places that were hit.
“That’s why we saw storms more representative of late March and April,” Marsh said.
The compact but strong storms, known as supercells, moved into the region on Tuesday and raked parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri before moving into Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
The system produced 26 tornadoes that touched down across five states on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain and wind speeds of up to 155 miles per hour, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports.
In Ottawa, Illinois, 70 miles southwest of Chicago, hail caused significant damage to 50 homes, including one belonging to a resident named Penny.
“I live in an upstairs apartment. I had to get in the bathtub to survive,” Penny told CBS News. “My roof is off, trees are down. My car is wrecked. My neighbors’ cars are wrecked. It’s a disaster. It looks like a bomb went off.”
An uprooted tree killed Wayne Tuntland, 76-year-old Ottawa resident. More than a dozen people in the area were injured during the storm. In the small community of Naplate, next to Ottawa, about a quarter of the roughly 200 homes were damaged, Fire Chief John Nevins said.
On Wednesday, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner toured towns hit hardest by Tuesday’s storms.
“We’ve got to count our blessings,” Rauner said. “This could have been way worse. The warning systems worked well. People were notified.”
