A series of severe thunderstorms — including numerous tornadoes and strong straight-line winds — that hit the Midwest left at least one person dead Tuesday.
Nearly all of Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin, western Illinois, and northern Missouri have the greatest risk for severe weather, which is a level 4 out of 5 on the Storm Prediction Center's scale.
A woman in Adams County, Iowa, died in a storm-related incident.
The National Weather Service issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" tornado watch for much of Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois until 9 p.m. local time.
Heavy damage occurred throughout Iowa, where radar saw debris lifted to 40,000 feet in the town of Greenfield, and pieces of sheet metal were reported to have been falling from the sky approximately 30 miles away. Damage was also reported in Carbon and Villisca, Iowa.
The storms are allegedly being caused by an area of low pressure, along with a trailing cold front, moving into Minnesota. Upper level winds are also encouraging the formation of long-lasting severe thunderstorms with rotating updrafts, which are also known as supercells.
The "Moderate Risk" area covers almost all of Iowa, and a broader region is in an "Enhanced Risk" zone, which encompasses about 23 million people, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska. The "Enhanced Risk zone has a lower tornado threat, but there are still significant threats of high winds and large hail. An area of approximately 51 million people live in areas with at least "Slight Risk."
Jeremy Frankel ✉
Jeremy Frankel is a Newsmax writer reporting on news and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.