JIM SALTER and SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press
st. LOUIS (AP) — At least five people were killed and another number is unknown when a large tornado tore through an area in southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, officials said.
The Twister caused significant destruction in and around the small rural communities of Glen Allen and Grassy, ​​Bollinger County Sheriff Casey A. Graham said in a post on his office’s Facebook account.
Graham wrote that at least five people had died, and said he was withholding the names of the deceased so that family members could be notified first.
Crews from several agencies are searching through the rubble of destroyed and damaged homes, officials said.
The tornado stayed on the ground for about 15 minutes and traveled an estimated 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers), said Justin Gibbs, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky.
The Weather Service team headed to Bollinger County to gather details about the tornado, but Gibbs said it was clear the tornado was big. ”
He noted that tornadoes are especially dangerous when they land late at night or early in the morning, as they did this time.
“From a warning standpoint, this is definitely a nightmare,” Gibbs said. “It’s bad all the time, but it’s especially bad at 3:30 in the morning.”
This is breaking news. Here’s AP’s previous story:
st. LOUIS (AP) — A large tornado swept through southeastern Missouri before dawn Wednesday, causing widespread destruction and killing at least four people. A twister in Illinois also caused injuries.
The Missouri tornado touched down around 3:30 a.m. and passed through the Bollinger County countryside about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis, Sergeant said. Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Parrott said more than 20 agency crews had arrived at the scene to clear the debris and search for others who may have been killed or injured.
“The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see,” Parrott said.
The patrol posted overhead photos of the damage showing uprooted trees and damaged and destroyed homes. Drone footage showed some of it to be a pile of rubble and debris. One area that appeared particularly hard hit was the narrow strip between the road and the stream, where paramedics could be seen peering into the wreckage with flashlights.
According to Parrott, the crew had to use chainsaws to cut down and brush trees to reach several houses.
“It’s going to be a slow process, but for now it’s an aggressive search and rescue,” Parrott said.
The tornado stayed on the ground for about 15 minutes and traveled an estimated 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers), said Justin Gibbs, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky.
The Weather Service team headed to Bollinger County to gather details about the tornado, but Gibbs said it was clear the tornado was big. ”
He noted that tornadoes are especially dangerous when they land late at night or early in the morning, as they did this time.
“From a warning standpoint, this is definitely a nightmare,” Gibbs said. “It’s bad all the time, but it’s especially bad at 3:30 in the morning.”
Bollinger County Administrator Larry Welker said the Twister had moved along Route 34 to Glen Allen, a village of just over 100 people, but law enforcement restricted access to the area. He said he was unable to directly assess the damage. .
“We’re getting reports that it’s been pretty bad,” he said. He described it as a rural area where residents mostly work in agriculture, logging or construction.
“There have been some trailers out there, but I understand there are still people missing,” Welker said.
Gov. Mike Parson said he will join emergency personnel on the ground to assess the damage and determine the resources needed.
Storms moving through the Midwest and South on Wednesday threaten some areas still reeling from last weekend’s deadly bout of severe weather. Up to 40 million people said late Wednesday that they were at risk of storms in areas that include major cities such as Memphis. As of midnight, the greatest threat appeared to lie in an area stretching from southern Michigan to Tennessee and Kentucky.
A ferocious storm that began last Friday and continued through the weekend has caused deadly tornadoes in 11 states as the system rolls through Arkansas and into the South, Midwest and Northeast.
A school in Little Rock, Arkansas canceled Wednesday’s classes because a storm was expected to pass through the area during the morning rush hour, KFVS-TV reported.
In central Illinois, officials said a tornado hit Fulton County Tuesday night, injuring five people and knocking out power to about 300 homes. Chris Helle, who heads the county’s emergency services disaster office, said one of the injured was in critical condition.
Helle said the damage was concentrated near the town of Bryant, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Fire departments and other first responders were still cataloging damage there, but Helle said many homes had been destroyed. I was.
Officials said another tornado made landfall in the community of Corona in western Illinois on Tuesday morning. Local news reports showed wind damage to several businesses there.
Winds up to 90 mph (145 km/h) and baseball-sized hail also wreaked havoc in the Quad Cities area of ​​Iowa and Illinois.
The National Weather Service also received reports of a semi-trailer overturned by the wind in Lee County, about 95 miles (153 km) west of Chicago.
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McFetridge reported from Des Moines, Iowa. The Associated Press is written by Sean Murphy of Oklahoma City and Trisha Ahmed of St. Paul, Minnesota. Margery A. Beck of Omaha, Nebraska. Claire Savage of Chicago. Lisa Baumann of Bellingham, Washington. His Ben Finley of Norfolk, Virginia contributed to this report.