Watch CBS News

Mother Nature all over the map on Mother's Day

Another round of severe weather brought tornadoes to the Plains states and the Midwest on Sunday, while a tropical storm hit the coast of South Carolina and more than a foot of snow fell in parts of the upper Midwest and Rockies.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches in several states through Sunday evening. Watches were posted for central and North Texas, central Oklahoma, western Arkansas, western Iowa, eastern Nebraska, central Missouri and parts of Minnesota and South Dakota.

In South Dakota, National Weather Service meteorologist Philip Schumacher said law enforcement reported a tornado about 10:45 a.m. Sunday in Delmont, about 90 miles from Sioux Falls.

CBS affiliate KELO-TV in Sioux Falls reported the town was being evacuated. South Dakota Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Kristi Turman said about 20 buildings were damaged and water, power and phones were knocked out.

Delmont Fire Chief Elmer Goehring told The Associated Press that there "have been some injuries," and Avera Health spokeswoman Lindsey Meyers said three people were in good condition at a local hospital. No deaths were reported.

"One side of town was taken away," Delmont resident Anita Mathews told the AP. She said a large Lutheran church had been heavily damaged as well as a new fire hall.

"It sucked the window out of the living room, frame and everything," 87-year-old Walter Stoebner told the AP. "It was just one big bang, and that was it. It didn't last long."

In North Texas, a likely tornado ripped roofs off buildings and damaged trees near Denton, about 40 miles northwest of Dallas, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw.

About 100 miles west of Fort Worth, sparsely populated ranching and farming communities in North Texas were left to clean up Sunday after several tornadoes touched down in the area Saturday, leaving one person dead and another in critical condition, authorities said. One shattered homes in a rural area south of Cisco, a town of a few thousand people, Eastland County Judge Rex Fields said.

"The homes that I've seen, there are just maybe one or two walls standing," Fields, who also serves as the county's emergency services coordinator, told The Associated Press. Authorities were going house to house to assess the damage on Saturday, but Fields said that proved difficult amid the heavy rainfall.

Storms also brought heavy rain and quarter-sized hail to parts of southwest Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon, but meteorologists said there was so much rain -- and so little sun -- that the tornado threat there lessened throughout the day.

To the east, Tropical Storm Ana made landfall on the coast of South Carolina on Sunday morning and was weakening with top sustained winds of 40 mph. The storm marked a surprising beginning to the Atlantic hurricane season, which doesn't officially start until June 1.

Dave Rey, a homeowner in Little River, South Carolina, said he didn't expect the surprise tropical storm to buffet his plans to cook dinner for his mother on Mother's Day. He lives not far from Myrtle Beach but said blustery winds early Sunday weren't a problem.

"There isn't much to do for this one, just a little wind and rain and a couple of downed branches, not a whole lot going on ... maybe 20 mph winds" so far in Little River, he told the AP by phone from a Waffle House where he was hanging out.

Meanwhile, a late-season snow fell in parts of the Rockies, western Nebraska, western South Dakota and parts of North Dakota on Sunday morning.

National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Carstens said between 10 to 18 inches of snow was on the ground Sunday morning in the Black Hills, and totals could reach 20-24 inches by the time the system moves out. Rapid City, South Dakota, had 8-11 inches, accompanied by 20-30 mph winds.

KELO-TV reported cars have skidded off the roads in the area. Plows have been out clearing the snow, but officials urged people to avoid traveling, if possible.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.