Severe storms that swept through the Midwest knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, damaged buildings and canceled flights, while officials warned of a new round of severe storms and possible tornadoes into Thursday night.
The National Weather Service said it received more than a dozen reports of tornadoes Wednesday across northern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. Trees and utility wires were reported down across the region.
In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.
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Severe weather continued Thursday, with the National Weather Service issuing tornado watches or warnings for parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity.
Storm damages animal shelter in Illinois
Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group’s executive director.
“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”
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The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said.
Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.
Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.
Record high temperatures expected along East Coast
Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity arrived Thursday and was expected to continue Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or more, the service said.
Philadelphia declared a heat health emergency for Thursday and Friday, activating cooling centers, home visits by field teams, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other services. New York City officials were also urging residents to take precautions, including drinking plenty of water and finding a cool place to stay if they do not have air conditioning.
Severe weather wreaks havoc on air travel and power
At various points Wednesday and Thursday, ground stops were issued at Chicago’s O’Hare International and Midway International airports, and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
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More than 1,000 flights going into and out of Chicago had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
Strong winds blew part of the roof off an apartment building in the Chicago area, forcing residents to leave, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Elsewhere, barns collapsed in Wisconsin and buildings were crushed in rural northern Missouri, photos and video online showed.
Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides electric service across northern Illinois, said the storms had downed poles and wires. On X, it wrote that it expected “80% restoration by Saturday, June 13 at 11 PM.”
Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Hallie Golden and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
