A day after a deadly twister tore through a small Oklahoma town and killed at least one person, severe storms pounded parts of the Midwest on Tuesday, dumping heavy rain, high winds and a curtain of tornadoes across the region.
Tornadoes were seen after dark Tuesday in southwest Michigan, northern Indiana, and northwest Ohio.
Forecasters warned that the storm could continue into the night as parts of the three states are under tornado watches.
The powerful storm comes amid a flurry of severe weather around the world, including the worst flooding in history in Brazil and a brutal heat wave in Asia.
The Storm Prediction Center cited 17 reports of tornadoes across the central United States from Monday evening into early Tuesday.
Eight of the twisters occurred in Oklahoma, and at least one tornado was seen in Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Tennessee.
A deadly tornado that touched down in Oklahoma Monday night struck Barnsdall, a town of 1,000 people about a 40-minute drive north of Tulsa.
The National Weather Service warned Monday night that a “major, life-threatening tornado” was headed toward Barnsdall and the nearby town of Bartlesville.
This is the second tornado to hit Barnsdall in the past five weeks.An April 1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 90 to 100 mph (145 to 161 km/h) damaged homes and destroyed trees and power poles in Barnsdall. It collapsed.
Mayor Johnny Kelly announced that one person was killed and one person was missing.
Authorities began a secondary search for the missing man Tuesday morning.
“The toughest thing for me as mayor is that this is a small community,” Kelly said.
“I know 75% to 80% of the people in this town.”
At least 30 to 40 homes in the Barnsdall area were damaged Monday night, according to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Aerial video showed well-built homes reduced to piles of rubble, and others with roofs ripped off and damaged walls still in place.
The powerful twister threw vehicles, downed power lines and stripped limbs and bark from trees across the city. A 160-acre wax manufacturing facility in the area was also severely damaged.
Kelly said first responders rescued about 25 people, including children, from the building and surrounding homes that were severely damaged and collapsed.
Approximately six people were reportedly injured.
Barnsdall Nursing Home announced that its residents were evacuated after they were unable to stop a gas leak due to storm damage.
It later posted online that none of the residents were injured and were taken to other facilities.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, who inspected the twister’s damage on Tuesday, said weather researchers characterized it as a severe tornado with winds of up to 200 mph.
Stitt said he and legislative leaders agreed to set aside $45 million in this year’s budget to help communities affected by the storm.
“Oklahomans are resilient. We’re going to rebuild,” Stitt said.
At the Hampton Inn in Bartlesville, several shattered 2x4s were driven into the south side of the building.
Chunks of insulation, twisted metal and other debris were scattered across the hotel’s lawn, and cars in the parking lot suffered extensive damage, including broken windows.
Matthew Macedo, 30, who was staying at the hotel, said he was directed to the hotel’s laundry room to wait out the storm.
“When the impact happened, it was incredibly sudden,” he said.
The storm struck Oklahoma as areas such as Sulfur and Holdenville were still recovering from the tornado that killed four people and left power out to thousands late last month.
Both the Plains and Midwest were hit by tornadoes this spring.
Oklahoma and Kansas were under high-risk weather warnings Monday.
The last time such a warning was issued was March 31, 2023, when a major storm battered parts of the South and Midwest, including rural areas of Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana.
This entire week has been rough across the United States.
The eastern and southern United States is expected to bear the brunt of the severe weather through the rest of the week, including cities such as Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati, which are home to more than 21 million people.
It should clear up by the weekend.
