Weather Updates! Tornadoes and Heavy Rains Unleash Havoc Across the Midwest

Severe storms battled throughout the Midwest on Tuesday, releasing a wall of heavy rain, gusting winds, and tornadoes a day after a fatal twister slammed through a small Oklahoma town, killing at least one.

Tornadoes were reported after dark Tuesday in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, with regions of Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri all under tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters cautioned that the storms might last well into the night, with the threat of further twisters and big hail.

Two tornadoes ripped through the city of Portage in southern Michigan, near Kalamazoo. The sheriff’s office reported that several trees and electricity wires had fallen in the neighborhood. A FedEx building was demolished, with rubble left on delivery vans, but a company spokeswoman stated there were no significant casualties despite the extensive damage.

According to Taylor Koopman, a representative for the county administration, approximately 50 people were stuck inside the FedEx facility as of 9:30 p.m.

“First responders are actively looking for ways to get them out, but there are wires down in the building that they need the power company to clear before they can safely go in,” Koopman added, referring to the sheriff’s office. Meanwhile, she reported that whole homes in the Pavilion Estates mobile home park had been demolished.

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center reported more than a dozen tornadoes in the central United States between Monday evening and early Tuesday. Oklahoma had eight tornadoes, while Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Tennessee each experienced at least one. The huge storms came amid a wild swing in extreme weather around the world, including some of the greatest flooding in Brazil and a harsh Asian heatwave.

The devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma on Monday night blasted through the 1,000-person community of Barnsdall, located approximately 40 minutes north of Tulsa. The National Weather Service had issued a warning Monday evening that “a large and life-threatening tornado” was heading toward Barnsdall and the nearby town of Bartlesville.

It was the second tornado to strike Barnsdall in five weeks; on April 1, a twister with maximum wind speeds of 90 to 100 mph (145 to 161 kph) damaged homes and blew down trees and power poles.

According to Barnsdall Mayor Johnny Kelley, one person died and one man went missing as a result of Monday’s tornado. On Tuesday morning, authorities initiated a secondary search for the missing man. “The toughest thing on me as the mayor is this is a small community,” said Kelley. “I know 75% to 80% of the people in this town.” The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said that 30 to 40 homes in the Barnsdall region were destroyed on Monday night.

Aerial footage showed numerous well-built homes smashed to mounds of debris, while others had roofs blown off and damaged walls still intact. The violent tornado threw vehicles, broke power lines, and peeled limbs and bark off trees throughout town. A 160-acre (65-hectare) wax manufacturing factory in the community also suffered significant damage.

According to Kelley, first responders rescued around 25 individuals, including children, from seriously damaged homes after buildings collapsed on or around them. He reported that about a half dozen persons were injured.

The Barnsdall Nursing Home stated that residents were evacuated because a gas leak could not be turned off owing to storm damage. It was later announced online that all residents had been accounted for with no injuries and were being transferred to other facilities.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who surveyed the tornado’s wreckage on Tuesday, said meteorological researchers classified it as a severe tornado with wind speeds of up to 200 mph (322 kph). Stitt announced that President and legislature leaders had decided to set aside $45 million in this year’s budget to assist storm-damaged regions.

“Oklahomans are resilient,” Stitt stated, “and we’re going to rebuild.”

At the Hampton Inn in Bartlesville, many splintered 2x4s were pushed into the south wall. Chunks of insulation, twisted metal, and other debris littered the hotel’s grounds, while vehicles in the parking lot were extensively damaged, with cracked windows.

Matthew Macedo, who was staying at the hotel, said he was directed to the hotel laundry area to wait out the storm.

“When the impact occurred, it was incredibly sudden,” he stated.

The storms ripped into Oklahoma while places like Sulphur and Holdenville were still rebuilding from a tornado that killed four people and left others without power late last month. Tornadoes wreaked havoc across the Plains and Midwest this spring. Oklahoma and Kansas were under a high-risk weather warning Monday. The last such warning was issued on March 31, 2023, when a huge storm system ripped over areas of the South and Midwest, including Arkansas, Illinois, and rural Indiana.

The entire week looks stormy over the United States. The eastern United States and the South are likely to bear the brunt of the terrible weather for the remainder of the week, including Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, which have populations of more than 21 million. It should become evident over the weekend.