At least 16 dead after tornadoes cause devastation across central states as forecasters warn another HUNDRED twisters could hit the area this week
- More than a hundred tornadoes set to hit the central states this week at the start of the nation's tornado season
- The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7 p.m.
- It moved northeastward for at least 30 miles leaving a path of destruction - severe property damage
- Tornado caused havoc on the Arkansas towns of Mayflower and Vilonia
- Storm-watchers fear that Midwest states like Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri face a high risk of tornadoes this week
- More storms are expected Monday in the South and Mississippi Valley
- The 11-month-old boy whose home was destroyed on Friday during tornado in North Carolina has died
- President Obama said in a statement: 'Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes'
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At
least 16 people have died after a powerful storm system spawning
several tornadoes tore through the central and southern states last
night with experts warning that another hundred are set to hit the central states this week at the start of tornado season.
Winds ripped houses off their foundations
and flipped cars on top of the rubble in the small town of Vilonia in
central Arkansas' Faulkner county, one of the worst-hit communities.
Early this morning Arkansas Department of Emergency
Management announced the death toll stating the deadly weather had killed seven people in Faulkner County, five
people in Pulaski County and one person in White County.
Tornado
watches - which means twisters could develop but are not an immediate
threat - are in effect for states as far west as New Mexico and as far
east as Tennessee and the system produced storms that were moving
through the region in waves.
Watches
were also issued for Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Iowa,
Texas and Louisiana. Quapaw was heavily damaged. 'Looks like about half
of town got extensive damage as well as the fire department,' Ottawa
County Emergency Management director Joe Morgan said.
Scroll down for videos...
Flattened: At least 16 people have been killed
by tornadoes as a huge storm system swept across the central and
southern United States. Most of the victims were in several suburbs of
Little Rock in Arkansas
Waking up to devastation: The remains of a home
damaged by the tornado on Sunday evening in Baxter Springs, Kansas. The
tornado left a trail of shattered homes as well as fatalities
Picking through rubble: Residents view damage
from the tornado in Baxter Springs. Volunteers were meeting early today
to discuss cleanup efforts
Bob Hessee checks out property owned by a friend
and damaged by the twister in Baxter Springs. Officials say 60-70 homes
were destroyed in the town
Smashed to pieces: People walk between two destroyed houses in Mayflower, Arkansas after a tornado struck the town late Sunday
Trail of destruction: A tornado's path is seen
in an aerial photo made over Baxter Springs, Kansas. A tornado damaged
dozens of buildings and injured at least 25 people on Sunday
Some survived: A row of lightly damaged houses, top, face destroyed homes in a Vilonia, Arkansas
View from above: A weather system travels over
the continental United States that produced at least 31 tornadoes
through the Plains and South pictured at lunchtime on Sunday
Flattened: The destructive path the tornado took can be seen in this aerial photo taken over Baxter Springs, Kansas
At least 17 people have died after a powerful storm system
spawning several tornadoes tore through the central and southern states
with experts warning that another hundred are set to hit the central
states this week at the start of tornado season
A damaged vehicle is seen after a tornado hit
the town of Mayflower. The Arkansas tornado touched down last night
about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7 p.m. and moved
northeastward for at least 30 miles leaving a path of destruction
Business owners look over the damage after a
tornado hit the town of Mayflower. It missed the state capital but
passed through or near several of its suburbs, causing widespread damage
in the communities of Mayflower and Vilonia
President Barack Obama is sending his deepest condolences to those affected by a deadly tornado that ripped through Arkansas.
Obama says he wants everyone affected to know that the federal government is on the ground to help
A spotter in Mayflower, 22 miles northwest of
Little Rock, reported a 1/2-mile wide tornado crossing Interstate 40 at
about 7:30 p.m
Deadly: This map of the midwest shows two of the
bigger tornadoes to touch down - the first around 5.45pm local time in
Kansas and the second in Arkansas
The tornado was the largest of several formed by a powerful storm system that rumbled through the central and southern U.S.
It
touched down last night about 10 miles west of Little Rock at about 7
p.m., then carved a 80-mile path of destruction as it passed through or
near several suburbs north of Arkansas' capital city. It grew to be a
half-mile wide and remained on the ground for much of that route,
authorities said.
Vilonia
mayor James Firestone told CNN the tornado was much stronger than the
2011 tornado and had caused a lot more damage.
He confirmed that there
had been 'some casualties', but said it was too early to say how many.
The
Arkansas twister shredded cars, trucks and 18-wheelers stuck along
Interstate 40 north of Little Rock. It was shut down as authorities
removed debris from the highway after
the tornado struck Mayflower, said Arkansas State Patrol spokesman Bill
Sadler. Mayflower is roughly 25 miles northwest of Little Rock.
Television
footage showed buildings that had been turned to rubble and trees that
had been stripped bare of their leaves and smaller branches.
There are
reports that the new Vilonia Intermediate School which was only supposed
to open in the fall has been destroyed.
A man looks at a damaged home after a tornado
hit the town of Mayflower. Television footage showed buildings that had
been turned to rubble and trees that had been stripped bare of their
leaves and smaller branches
Starting over: Homes and businesses are wrecked
in downtown Vilonia, Arkansas. The most powerful twister this year
carved an 80-mile path of destruction through suburbs north of the state
capital of Little Rock, killing at least 16 people
Messed up: A trail of debris, bottom, leads along the path of a tornado-devastated neighborhood in Vilonia, Arkansas
Blown to pieces: Two men stand in front of a
destroyed house in Mayflower, Arkansas.. A tornado system ripped through
several states in the central U.S. and left at least 17 dead in a
violent start to this year's storm season, officials said
Not over yet: After deadly tornadoes ripped
through the area on April 27, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana,
and Tennessee are all under watch as multiple storms over the next few
days are expected
On the lookout: Emergency officials began to
pick through the rubble to look for survivors as the sun rose Monday
morning. The tornado that touched down around 7 p.m. Sunday about 10
miles west of Little Rock
Vilonia mayor James Firestone told CNN the
tornado was much stronger than the 2011 tornado and had caused a lot
more damage. He confirmed that there had been 'some casualties', but
said it was too early to say how many
Forecasters had warned for days that violent weather would strike this weekend, ending an unusually calm weather pattern
A spokesman for the Faulkner County Sheriff's
office had said there was a "mass casualty situation", and numerous
injuries were reported. TV footage showed houses ripped off their
foundations, with cars toppled on top of the rubble
'Tonight, I walked around what was only hours
earlier a thriving neighborhood that is now gone. An entire neighborhood
of 50 or so homes has been destroyed - many homes are completely gone
except the foundation,' said U.S. Representative Tim Griffin
In Mayflower, some of about 45 homes were
destroyed in a newer subdivision and a lumberyard was damaged, said Will
Elder, an alderman in the city of 2,300 people
The tornado passed through the east side of
town, tearing up trees and bringing down powerlines, making it difficult
for the emergency services to find stricken areas in the darkness, and
forcing authorities to shut down Interstate 40
More than a hundred tornadoes are set to
hit the Midwest and the South this week as part of a powerful storm
system that is impacting on the Midwest and the South
The
National Weather Service in North Little Rock said it was virtually
certain that the Mayflower and Vilonia storm would be rated as the
nation's strongest twister to date this year.
'It has the potential to be EF3 or greater,' said meteorologist Jeff Hood. EF3 storms have winds greater than 136 mph.
'Based on some of the footage we've seen from Mayflower and where it
crossed Interstate 40, things were wrecked in a very significant way.'
From
communities west of Little Rock to others well north of the capital,
emergency workers and volunteers were going door-to-door checking for
victims.
'It
turned pitch black,' said Mark Ausbrooks, who was at his parents' home
in Mayflower when the storm arrived. 'I ran and got pillows to put over
our heads and ... all hell broke loose.'
'My parents' home, it's gone completely,' he said.
Among the ruins was a new $14 million intermediate school that was set to open this fall.
Tragic: Tornadoes in the U.S. have claimed their first victim of 2014, an 11-month-old boy in North Carolina
A officer talks to people at 15th and Military following Sunday's tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan.
Dangerous: High winds flipped a tractor trailer in Missouri on Sunday, as strong winds threaten much of the Midwest
An SUV is buried under wreckage, the result of a storm that hit Quapaw, Oklahoma
The Arkansas Department of Emergency
Management raised the death toll early Monday on its website. It says
Sunday night's tornado killed seven people in Faulkner County, five
people in Pulaski County and one person in White County
Twisted
trees and power lines remain in a residential block near Military
Avenue following the tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., on Sunday
Residents survey the damage in a residential neighborhood in Quapaw, Okla., after it was struck by a tornado on Sunday evening
First
responders, volunteers and firemen gather on Main Street in Quapaw,
Okla. after a tornado struck the city on Sunday evening killing one and
injuring six
A K-9 rescue unit walks along Military Street in Baxter Springs as they survey the damage from the tornado
Becky
Naylor, of Mayflower, said she and her family went to their storm
cellar after hearing that tornado debris was falling in nearby Morgan.
Naylor, 57, said there were between 20 and 22 people in the cellar and
they were 'packed like sardines.'
'Everyone is welcome to come into it,' she said. 'In fact, people were pulling off the highways and were just running in.'
She said the men held the cellar doors shut while the tornado's winds tried to rip them open.
She said the men held the cellar doors shut while the tornado's winds tried to rip them open.
'It
sounded like a constant rolling, roaring sound,' she said. 'Trees were
really bending and the light poles were actually shaking and moving.
That's before we shut the door and we've only shut the door to the storm
cellar two times.'
The other time was during the 2011 storm.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the
deadly tornadoes that tore through several states before making a
statement during a joint news in Manila, Philippines
The
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management raised the Arkansas death
toll to 13 early Monday - seven in Faulkner County, five in Pulaski
County and one in White County.
The
White House issued a statement in which President Barack Obama promised
that the federal government would help in the recovery and praised the
heroic efforts of first-responders and neighbors.
'Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes,' Obama said.
Storm
ratings for Sunday's twisters were not immediately available. Before
Sunday, the country had not had a tornado rated EF3 or higher since Nov.
17, streak of 160 days, the fourth-longest on record.
This also would be the latest date for a storm rated EF3 or higher. The
previous latest big storm for a year was March 31, 2002.
Sunday
was the third anniversary of a 122-tornado day, which struck parts of
Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and killed 316
people.
The
first reported tornado on Sunday touched down in a rural area in
central in Nebraska. The weather service said it remained on the ground
for only a short time, and there were no immediate reports of damage.
Forecasters
warned that areas that weren't hit by tornadoes were still at risk of
damage from hail and powerful straight-line winds.
Forecasters warned of hail stones as big as baseballs and wind gusts that could reach hurricane-force - 75 mph or higher.
Devastation:
Tornadoes touched down across the South on Friday, devastating
neighborhoods like this one in Greenville, North Carolina
A tornado's strong winds have the ability to topple buildings and peel roofs off of homes and businesses
Dangerous: The tornadoes produced winds of up to 111 mph, flipping cars and leveling houses
Gusts of
up to 60 mph were registered during a story that hit southeastern Iowa
on Sunday that damaged several buildings, including a barn that injured
someone when it was blown over.
Earlier
on Sunday afternoon, a strong line of storms moved through west-central
Missouri, bringing winds that reached 70 mph hour near Chillicothe,
Mo., that toppled some trees.
The
Missouri Highway Patrol also reported a tractor-trailer was blown onto
its side on Interstate 70 about 30 miles east of Kansas City about 1
p.m. No one was injured.
The
weather service received a report from Plattsburg, Mo., where an
anemometer measured 58 mph before it blew away. Golf ball-sized hail was
reported at Overland Park, Kan., and Trimble, Mo.
Severe
thunderstorm watches covered portions of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri
through Sunday night. The primary threats were damaging wind gusts and
large hail.
Damage: Places like Greenville were hit exceptionally hard with farm equipment getting destroyed by 111 mph winds
Gone: A mobile home used to sit atop these cinder blocks but is now gone after a tornado ripped through Greenville
Rebuild: People in Greenville assess the damage caused by the tornado that touched down Friday
Salvage: People try to salvage whatever they can from their demolished houses after tornadoes ripped through the south on Friday
Storm chasers: Tornado chasers are getting
ready as a storm system hitting the South this weekend is expected to
produce even more tornadoes
To
the southeast, northern Louisiana and Mississippi were bracing for
severe storms along with the possibility of flash flooding.
The predictions prompted Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City, La., to cancel its air show on Sunday.
The
National Weather Service said northern Alabama could see rain and flash
flooding, while central and northern Georgia could see storms and heavy
rain.
Sunday
was the third anniversary of a 122-tornado day, which struck parts of
Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and killed 316
people.
Meanwhile,
runners in Oklahoma City took shelter early Sunday as hail and high
winds delayed the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon by 105 minutes to let a
severe thunderstorm pass through.
Prior
to this weekend, the country had been experiencing the slowest start to
tornado season on record (with no fatalities), likely due to the polar
vortex during the winter.
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