Tornado Outbreak Hits Central US

Multiple destructive twisters struck the central U.S. on Friday afternoon during a tornado outbreak that capped a weeklong stretch of severe storms in the region.

At least two tornadoes tracked through the greater Rochester, Minnesota, area. No injuries were reported in Rochester’s Olmsted County, but there was widespread damage, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

Marion, Minnesota, was one of the hardest-hit areas, reporting damage to approximately 30 homes, with about 10 other homes damaged in other parts of the county, the post said. One video showed debris and tree branches strewn across front yards, with some homes having damaged roofs.

Marathon County, Wisconsin, reported “significant damage” following a tornado that passed through Friday afternoon, with several law enforcement agencies responding in the area, said county spokesperson Sarah Severson. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries.

Extensive structural damage has been reported in Lena, Illinois, where drone footage shows homes with their roofs ripped, exposing scattered possessions inside. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but many homes and businesses were “lost,” Stephenson County Board Chairman Scott Helms said late Friday.

In Missouri, a tornado passed through Belton, causing widespread damage across the city, Police Chief Scott Lyons said during a news conference. Several minor injuries were reported, but preparations the city made before the storm hit helped prepare people, he said.

Widespread damaging wind gusts and flooding rainfall continue to threaten areas already battered by a multiday onslaught of twisters, massive hail and historic flooding.

Three rare “particularly dangerous situation” tornado warnings were issued Friday afternoon in parts of Wisconsin and Illinois. These warnings—the second-highest level of tornado alert—are reserved for storms likely to bring a destructive, long-lived tornado.

The biggest threat of tornadoes, some of which could be EF3 or stronger, was centered in western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. Tornado watches were in effect for 26 million people from Wisconsin to Oklahoma through early evening.

A tornado carved a path of destruction through Ann Arbor in the early hours of Wednesday, ripping the roof off an elementary school, flattening trees, and shutting down a major city park.

The tornado touched down at 1:44 a.m. ET near Jackson Avenue and Interstate 94. It traveled 1.71 miles southeast at a maximum width of 150 yards, lifting near West William Street and 4th Street at approximately 4:16 a.m., the agency said.

During those hours, the Ann Arbor Police Department fielded more than 120 calls for service between 1:45 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., the vast majority of which were storm-related. Officers worked alongside the Ann Arbor Fire Department and public works crews throughout the night.

The NWS survey detailed the storm's path block by block.

Starting near Jackson and North Ravinia, the tornado produced significant damage as it cut through Memorial Park—uprooting and snapping numerous trees and damaging small outbuildings. The most concentrated destruction stretched from Jackson Avenue through Veterans Memorial Park and into surrounding neighborhoods, where more trees were brought down, and large limbs snapped.

Moments before the storms end, the tornado blew portions of an elementary school's roof off the building. Even after the tornado itself dissipated, more damage followed as straight-line winds tore metal roof panels from Yost Ice Arena.

The NWS survey also confirmed a second, separate tornado touched down the same night in Lincoln Park, a neighborhood in the Detroit area. That EF-1 twister had peak winds of 95 mph, a path length of 0.30 miles, and a maximum width of 200 yards.

It produced roof and shingle damage to homes, snapped hardwood and softwood trees, damaged businesses, and uprooted trees along Dix Highway before lifting near Outer Drive and Meginity Street.