Large Tornado Hits Central Illinois As Severe Weather Blankets The Midwest
Large Tornado Hits Central Illinois As Severe Weather Blankets The Midwest
Michael Kelley and Pamela Engel Nov. 17, 2013, 12:16 PM 49,555 14
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About 50 tornadoes were reported throughout the Midwest on Sunday as a severe weather system pummeled the country, according to CNN. A Washington, Ill. alderman told Chicago's WBBM Radio that several people were injured and hundreds of homes were damaged in a large and extremely dangerous tornado that hit the area.
Washington resident Michael Perdun told The Associated Press that when he emerged from his laundry room after the storm, only the wall of his fireplace was left standing.
Much of the Midwest is considered to be moderate and high risk for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the next 12 hours or so.
The AP has a tornado tracker that shows where the storms are hitting. Most seem to be in Illinois and Indiana.
"We obviously have a very dangerous situation on our hands and it's just getting started," Laura Furgione, deputy director of the National Weather Service, told Reuters.
The threatened areas hold a total of about 53 million people. There are no reports of injuries yet.
The Chicago Bears v. Baltimore Ravens game at Soldier Field in Chicago was suspended for about an hour.
There are numerous storms and widespread tornado warnings.
Here's a photo In Washington, Ill. by @WMBD31 News reporter Alexandra Sutter:
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Twitter user Chris Khoury is also tweeting from Washington: http://static3.businessinsider.com/i...39.24%20pm.pngTwitter
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We'll have more information as it becomes available. Here's a map showing probability of tornadoes.
Hashed areas mean an enhanced probability of tornadoes of EF2 (on a scale of 0 to 5) or greater.
http://static1.businessinsider.com/i...1dd3e7226e.gifNOAA
And here are the risk areas for severe thunderstorms Sunday afternoon through Sunday night.
http://static5.businessinsider.com/i...594-mmmain.jpgNOAA
