A destructive storm system that has spawned at least 11 tornado reports and killed five people in Missouri now threatens millions more from Arkansas to Michigan.
At least five people were killed when a possible tornado struck Bollinger County, Missouri, Sheriff Casey Graham said Wednesday.
The exact number of casualties is not clear because reports are still coming in, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott told CNN.
“This is an active search and rescue event,” he said.
Across the central US, more than 5 million people are under tornado watches Wednesday – including some in states ravaged by last week’s tornadoes and storms that left 32 people dead.
A tornado watch has been issued for northwestern Mississippi to southwestern Indiana until 4 p.m. CDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Another tornado watch covers parts of northern Kentucky to western Ohio and includes Cincinnati, and stands until 5 p.m. ET.
The current storm system is trekking east across the central US after battering parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
At least nine tornadoes were reported Tuesday, including two in Iowa and seven in Illinois – where several buildings were damaged in the town of Colona and multiple semi-trucks were toppled over along the I-88.
Softball-sized hail ‘sounded like bricks hitting the roof’
The most notable impact has been large, baseball-sized hail. More than 170 hail reports emerged from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan on Tuesday.
Davenport, Iowa, was pummeled with 4-inch hail – larger than a softball.
“Worst hail I’ve ever heard in Davenport. Sounded like bricks hitting the roof,” Davenport resident Paul Schmidt wrote on Facebook.
Farther east in Oswego, Illinois, baseball-sized hail plummeted from the sky.
Blizzard conditions engulf parts of the Northern Plains
As twisters threaten the Midwest and South, winter storms are expected to plague the Northern Plains. The region is expected to be hit by a blizzard Wednesday, a day after “blizzard conditions” led to the shutdown of more than 100 miles of Interstate 90.
Widespread heavy snow has fallen across the Rockies and is expected to continue over the Northern Plains, which have been seeing snowfall for several hours.
“Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Dakotas where snow showers and strong winds will cause blowing snow and reduced visibility, which will make travel dangerous,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said Wednesday afternoon.
Parts of eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota will see several inches worth of snow Wednesday, the center added.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation urged drivers to stay off the roads, warning conditions are too dangerous even for emergency crews.
“If you don’t need to drive, stay off the roads. It’s dangerous for you and emergency crews. If you’re stranded, crews may not be able to reach you,” the transportation department tweeted.
Meanwhile, sleet and freezing rain will impact parts of the Upper Great Lakes and New England, the prediction center said.
“Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont through early Thursday morning,” the center added, warning of possible power outages and difficult travel conditions.