A powerful storm system swept through the central United States on Wednesday (Dec. 15) with high winds that kicked up dust storms, fueled wildfires, and knocked down power lines, leaving more than 510,000 customers without power, with no mass casualties reported as of early Thursday (Dec. 16), according to major U.S. news outlets.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported a “confirmed tornado” near Rochester in southeastern Minnesota, the state’s first on record in December. Several tornadoes reported in western and central Iowa were also a December first for those parts of the state.
Wednesday saw a record set, the highest number of hurricane force winds of 75 mph or higher recorded in a single day since 2004, according to the NWS.
One person was killed Wednesday evening when the truck he was driving was blown over by the storm, said the Iowa State Patrol. More than 36 million people from New Mexico to Michigan were under high-wind warnings, as gusts of up to 100 mph sent roofs flying and toppled tractor-trailers on highways from Colorado to Iowa.
Earlier Wednesday before the storms, the NWS issued a high wind warning along a swath stretching from New Mexico to upper Michigan, including Wisconsin and Illinois, with sustained winds between 25 mph and 40 mph expected. It also issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.
The storms came just days after devastating tornadoes in six states over the weekend, which have killed around 90 people so far, mainly in Kentucky. (Xinhua) – jlo
