The home of Phyllis Rawlins is destroyed home in Kokomo, Ind., Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. Sunday’s storm picked up Rawlins’ Victorian-style house and moved it about 100 feet, leaving a 15-foot pile of debris on nearby train tracks. Rawlins says her granddaughter and about five other members of a church group fled to the basement when the storm hit. She says her granddaughter suffered a broken ankle, and the other youths had cuts and broken bones. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Severe Weather
A motorist travels on KY358 near the United States Enrichment Corporation Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, near Paducah, Ky. A tornado passed through the area causing damage to buildings at the nuclear plant Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
Severe Weather Illinois
Debris lies on the ground in Brookport, Ill., Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, after a tornado moved through the area. An unusually large and strong late-season storm system ripped through several states across the Midwest on Sunday, spawning tornadoes and tearing through homes and overturning cars along its path. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
Severe Weather
Debris from a row of homes destroyed by a tornado in Washington, Ill., is seen early Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. The tornado destroyed several hundred homes in the small town the day before. (AP Photo/David Mercer)
Severe Weather IL
The moon is seen behind a utility worker repairing a city street light in Brookport, Ill., Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. Dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept across the U.S. Midwest on Sunday, unleashing powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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An unusually large and strong late-season storm system ripped through several Midwest states Sunday, spawning tornadoes and tearing through homes and overturning cars along its path. Here’s a snapshot of what is happening, state by state:
ILLINOIS
Intense thunderstorms and tornadoes flattened neighborhoods, ripped off roofs and toppled trees across the state. At least six people were killed, including an elderly man and his sister who died when a tornado struck their farmhouse in rural New Minden in southern Illinois, officials said.
One of the worst-hit areas was Washington, a town of 16,000 about 140 miles west of Chicago, where a tornado razed houses and sent cars flying. The National Weather Service says the tornado had a preliminary rating of EF-4, meaning it packed wind speeds of 170 to 190 mph. Washington Mayor Gary Manier estimated 250 to 500 homes had been damaged or destroyed. One person died in Washington, while three others were killed in Massac County in the far southern part of the state.
Gov. Pat Quinn declared a disaster in seven counties.
As high winds slammed into the Chicago area, officials at Soldier Field evacuated the stands and ordered the Bears and Ravens off the field. Fans were allowed back to their seats shortly after 2 p.m., and the football game resumed after about a two-hour delay.
MICHIGAN
High winds and rain slammed into the western part of the state, downing trees and power lines and leaving more than 530,000 homes and businesses without power.
Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand said a 21-year-old man form Leslie died when a tree crushed his car Sunday night. The Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Department said a 59-year-old Perry man was found dead and entangled in high-voltage power wires in Perry after going outside late Sunday to investigate a noise.
Churches in western Michigan canceled evening worship services, and some schools in the southeast canceled classes, including more than 100 in the Detroit area.
High winds forced officials to close the Mackinac Bridge — a 5-mile span connecting Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas — to semi-trucks and trailers.
INDIANA
Severe thunderstorms packing tornadoes and heavy winds caused injuries and widespread damage.
Gov. Mike Pence was touring some of the worst-hit areas Monday, while tens of thousands of homes remained without power.
On Sunday night, an Amtrak train collided with a tree that had fallen onto lines near Michigan City, causing a 90-minute delay to the Chicago to Grand Rapids, Mich., service. The same train was halted again early Monday due to a downed tree near Holland, Mich.
Kokomo police say nearly three dozen people were injured when a suspected tornado swept through Sunday.
OHIO
Heavy winds from storms rolling through Ohio caused damage to buildings and left tens of thousands without power.
Wood County Director of Emergency Management Brad Gilbert said two people suffered minor injuries when their house was damaged in Jerry City, about 10 miles southeast of Bowling Green.
Winds toppled one of two screens at a drive-in movie theater in the Toledo suburb of Oregon.
WISCONSIN
Strong winds knocked out power to thousands in the Milwaukee area, damaged buildings and downed trees in Dodge County, and sent Sunday churchgoers scrambling into church basements for safety.
In the town of Hustisford, cattle sheds, garages and storage sheds were damaged, said Dodge County Emergency Management Director Joseph Meagher. No injuries were immediately reported, he said.
KENTUCKY
Tornadoes were spotted in at least eight Kentucky counties and at least one home had its roof blown off, a spokesman for the Kentucky Emergency Management said.
Buddy Rogers said it was unclear how many tornadoes actually touched down. He said a home in Rochester in Butler County had its roof blown off, and there were reports of damages to homes and other structures, but no reports of injuries.
MISSOURI
Severe storms slammed the eastern part of Missouri, leaving tens of thousands without power and destroying a mobile home.
The National Weather Service said the storm tore shingles off roofs and uprooted trees across parts of St. Louis and St. Louis County. Ameren Missouri reported more than 37,000 outages Sunday afternoon, mostly in the St. Louis area.
