(Trends Wide) — After a deadly day of tornadoes in Iowa on Saturday, a series of storms moving across the central US on Sunday brought additional severe weather and possible tornadoes to Arkansas.
A tornado watch is in effect until 2 am Central Time Monday for parts of western and northern Arkansas to southern Missouri, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Damaging winds, isolated large hail, and the possibility of tornadoes remain a threat to the region through Monday morning.
Multiple tornadoes were reported in the watch area Sunday night, Trends Wide Meteorologist Michael Guy said.
A video shows a tornado ripping through Iowa.
“The main threats in the early hours of the morning include the possibility of a few tornadoes, in which a couple could be intense. Scattered damaging winds with isolated significant gusts up to 75 mph (120 km/h) are also likely,” he said. Guy.
A spokesman for the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management said there was tornado damage and multiple downed power lines near the Martin Township area, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of downtown Little Rock, and a injured person.
One family was reported trapped in their storm shelter, but they were later able to get help and are safe, according to the agency.
The Pope County Office of Emergency Management, in northwestern Arkansas, asked people to avoid the area “while emergency services and other officials work in the area to clean up and control residents.”
Tornadoes in Iowa
As residents brace for potentially more severe weather in Arkansas and Missouri, recovery efforts continue in Iowa, where several tornadoes touched down near Des Moines on Saturday. Seven people, including two children, were killed in the storms, authorities said.
Six Madison County residents have died, according to county emergency management director Diogenes Ayala. The oldest victim was 72 years old and the youngest was two, Ayala said at a news conference in Winterset on Sunday afternoon. He had previously said that there were two victims under 5 years of age.
One person in a rural area near the town of Chariton in Lucas County also died, an official said.
Six people in Madison County were being treated for injuries sustained in the tornado, according to officials. Ayala previously said one adult had life-threatening injuries to himself and three others had been hospitalized in serious condition.
“I think this is the worst thing anyone has seen in a long time,” Ayala said Sunday.
At least 2 EF3-intensity tornadoes have hit Iowa, the National Weather Service says.
After the severe weather passed, many residents began the arduous process of recovering from the damage inflicted.
In Des Moines, Shannon Brown told Trends Wide affiliate KCCI that she had just parked her Jeep at her home when the storm hit and a tree toppled over the vehicle. She was not harmed and said she was thankful that others in the community helped with the cleanup efforts.
“You really realize who cares about you and makes you feel special, you know you have all these people who are willing to help you,” she told KCCI.
Cold front
Complicating the situation, there is a cold front moving across the state on Monday, with areas hit by tornadoes now set to experience snowfall. In the southern part of the state it began to snow on Sunday night.
Cleanup efforts underway in Winterset, Iowa, on Sunday, March 6, 2022, after a tornado hit an area southwest of the city on Saturday.
Intensity
At least two of the tornadoes that struck Saturday were preliminarily categorized by the NWS’s Des Moines office as EF3 intensity, meaning winds of 136-165 mph (218 to 265 km/h).
An initial estimate of the Madison County tornado that affected Winterset showed it to be an EF3, the NWS said.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for Madison County, allowing state resources to be used for response and recovery efforts, according to a news release. Additional counties may be added to the proclamation.
The Chariton tornado is also estimated to have been an EF3 with winds of 138 mph (222 km/h) and was on the ground for more than 16 miles (25 kilometers), according to preliminary NWS studies.
Other tornadoes that touched down include an EF2 with estimated winds of 122 mph (196 km/h) near Leon, which was on the ground for 19 miles (30 kilometers), the NWS said.
An EF1 tornado with 110 mph (177 km/h) winds struck Vinton, an EF1 tornado with 100 mph (160 km/h) winds struck West Lake Park, and an EF-0 tornado also struck West Lake Park with 65 mph (104 km/h) winds. kmh), according to the NWS.
The agency said Sunday that it is still conducting statewide damage surveys and is working to determine how many tornadoes have occurred.
Trends Wide’s Andy Rose, Melissa Alonso, Jennifer Feldman, Allison Chinchar, Gene Norman, Hannah Sarisohn, Susannah Cullinane and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.
