At Least Four Fatalities Confirmed After Wednesday’s Tornado

Posted: April 5, 2023 3:00 pm

Residents in Bollinger County, Missouri woke up to a trail of destruction after an overnight tornado ripped through the town of Glenallen early Wednesday morning. Here is the latest on the continuing stormy situation throughout much of the central U.S.

Multiple Tornado Fatalities Confirmed in Missouri

Search and rescue crews are on the ground in Glenallen, Missouri looking for survivors after a tornado touched down under the cover of darkness Wednesday morning. The Missouri Highway Patrol Troop E confirmed that they had multiple fatalities and injuries on their hands. As of mid-day Wednesday, at least four people had been confirmed dead as a result of this one tornado.

Glenallen is located about 50 miles south of St. Louis in the eastern part of the state. The twister hit this rural community sometime between 3:30 and 4 am. The tornado was on the ground for about 15 minutes, tearing through a path 15 – 20 miles long. Officials are asking people to avoid the area so that the appropriate responding agencies can assess the damage.

Earlier Tuesday, Illinois was hit by at least two confirmed twisters as the storm cells took aim at an area stretching from western Illinois and up through eastern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin.

The small town of Colona, Illinois saw a EF-2 tornado that hit the central business district, tearing off roofs and causing significant damage to a number of small businesses.

Other Impacts of Tuesday’s Severe Weather Events

The biggest weather story on Tuesday was the massive number of hail reports. At least 170 reports of hail were reported to the National Weather Service (NWS) with some instances of hail the size of baseballs.

There have also been almost 90,000 lighting strikes reported since early Tuesday. The storm system responsible for the severe weather to the south delivered blizzard conditions to the north-central U.S. to start the week with some of those flurries still lingering in the region on Wednesday.

Multiple highways in the Dakotas were forced to close on Wednesday as the snow continued to cause problems. The eastern portion of North Dakota is under a “no travel advised” alert because of the icy roads, blowing snow, and compromised visibility. In addition, a large section of Interstate 29 remains closed because of the potentially dangerous travel conditions. The South Dakota Department of Transportation is warning that I-29 from the border with North Dakota to Watertown will not open until winds die down.

The severe weather triggered a number of airline delays and cancellations on Tuesday. Over 960 flights were delayed with another 160 flights canceled at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday. These disruptions are continuing on Wednesday thanks to the latest round of storms. By Wednesday morning, the airport was reporting over 100 cancellations paired with over 200 delays. These numbers are sure to mount throughout the day.

Storms and Potential Tornado Move East on Wednesday

The storms are tracking to the east on Wednesday, cutting a path from eastern Texas through western portions of New York. The highest risk areas are scattered throughout Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. This line of storms is capable of producing winds gusts up to 70 mph as well as large hail and heavy rain. Tornadic activity will also be a possibility along the frontal boundary of the storm system.

Cities that need to be aware of the developing storms in the evening hours include Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. According to the NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) at least 40 million Americans are under a threat of ongoing severe weather on Wednesday.

Classes were preemptively canceled in Little Rock, Arkansas due to the expected rash of storms.

Safe Place Selfie Day

The NWS has designated April 5 as “Safe Place Selfie Day,” encouraging Americans to find a safe place to shelter when storms threaten their area. According to the NWS Preparedness and Resilience Program, the best thing that you can do to protect yourself during severe weather is to know where to take shelter. The agency is encouraging people to determine the safest place in your home, take a selfie in this place, and post it to social media in an effort to encourage others to identify their own safe spaces.

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