Another round of storms and heavy rain hit the East Coast on Wednesday, after severe weather, including at least one confirmed tornado, wreaked havoc across the Midwest and East Coast, killing three people.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for a large swath of the East Coast, from Philadelphia to Boston to Albany, until 8 p.m. .
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York state on Tuesday after the storm caused widespread damage, destroying buildings and trees and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power, poweroutage.us reported. As of Wednesday evening, more than 102,000 homes and businesses were without power in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
One person died in the village of Canastota, about 25 miles east of Syracuse, according to the emergency declaration. “Many trees and power lines” were uprooted in villages and some roads were impassable as some areas were evacuated.
Further east, the storm swept through Rome, a city of 31,000 people, destroying homes and uprooting trees. The weather service confirmed Wednesday that the tornado that touched down in the city on Tuesday afternoon was rated an EF-2 with peak winds of 135 mph and moved just over 5 miles.
'It looks like a war zone'
Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan said the storm ripped through the town's historic center, toppling the spiers of two 19th-century churches and permanently changing the city's skyline.
The tornado also tore off the roofs of several other buildings, caused exterior brick and concrete walls to collapse, crushed multiple vehicles and uprooted or snapped branches from hundreds of trees. Strong rotation caused the tornado to land and move northeast – directly through the city of Rome – before rising near Griffith International Airport.
“Honestly, this looks like a war zone,” Lanigan said at a news conference Tuesday night. “It tugs at your heartstrings.”
Officials warned Rome residents to avoid traveling on the streets and to be alert for downed power lines, which may be active.
Hochul posted on X that she was in contact with local officials and would deploy additional resources to affected areas.
“When something like this happens, you tend to think it's a tornado,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said at a news conference.
The weather service in Buffalo confirmed that a tornado struck the city of Canandaigua, about 100 miles west of Rome, just a day earlier. The tornado, rated an EF-0, traveled about three-quarters of a mile and rolled up around Lake Canandaigua, according to reports from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, both affiliated with USA TODAY Network. trees.
Flash floods hit Midwest, killing two
Meanwhile, flooding inundated parts of Iowa, Indiana and Illinois, and thunderstorms inundated the region and spawned several tornadoes.
An 88-year-old couple died Tuesday afternoon in rural Illinois after their car was swept away by floodwaters.
A 70-year-old man discovered the couple's sinking vehicle and was rescued by deputies from flash floods that struck about 35 miles north of downtown St. Louis, according to the Jersey County Sheriff's Office. Authorities later discovered the woman's body, along with that of her husband, at a nearby bank.
Local officials said that more than 6 inches of rain fell in the Nashville, Illinois, area east of St. Louis. A local dam was “on the verge of failure” and about 200 residents were evacuated. By Tuesday evening, the “immediate safety concerns” had passed and a nearby interstate highway was reopened, according to the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.
Flooding occurred after Derecho produced severe storms and tornadoes in the area on Monday. Derecho is a rare, damaging storm that brings fast-moving thunderstorms and showers.
The National Weather Service confirmed that 11 tornadoes passed through northern Illinois and northwest Indiana that night, including one near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, forcing travelers to shelter in place.
The weather service also confirmed that an EF-1 tornado moved near Des Moines with speeds of more than 100 mph on Monday, causing widespread damage and causing Power outage.
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Dozens evacuated in Arkansas due to flash flooding
North-central Arkansas was hit by widespread flash flooding Wednesday after more than 10 inches of water flooded areas of north-central Arkansas in 24 hours, according to the weather service. Forecasters said “many creeks and rivers” in the area were flooding or were still rising by noon local time.
On Wednesday afternoon, the weather service extended a flood warning for areas near the White River as water levels rose to more than 21 feet that morning. The river could rise to 29 feet Sunday morning.
Flooding damaged infrastructure and forced road closures and evacuations in several counties across the state, according to a news release emailed to USA TODAY by Lacey Canip, public information officer for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. In the town of Flippin, about 140 miles north of Little Rock, as many as 40 people were forced to evacuate.
Rescuers conducted water rescues after several bridges in the area were flooded, the city posted on Facebook. Local officials urged residents to avoid using city roads.
“If you don't have to leave your residence, please stay home!” the Marion County Office of Emergency Management posted on Facebook.
Tobias Pugsley, vice president of public relations and marketing for Baxter Health, told local news that a nursing home in Yellville, about seven miles from Flippin, About 80 residents were forced to evacuate. He said patients were taken to the county fair.
Some severe storms have ended, but heatwave continues
The extreme weather briefly dissipated on Wednesday morning before the weather department issued a severe thunderstorm warning around 1 p.m.
The weather service warned the storm could bring frequent lightning and gusty winds and put the area at slight risk of hail or tornadoes Thursday morning. Heavy rain may also cause flash flooding.
Meanwhile, large swaths of the country could be plunged into high temperatures as a record heatwave continues along the east coast into Wednesday.
Nearly 100 million Americans, or 29% of the country's population, were under heat alert Wednesday, according to the National Integrated Heat Health Information System.
The tail end of the heat wave will scorch I-95 on Wednesday, including in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston and Philadelphia, before a cold front brings relief Thursday, according to the weather service. Heat warnings are in effect for areas surrounding the nation's capital, including parts of Maryland and Virginia. Wednesday's heat index value could reach 106 degrees.
A cold front could bring more severe thunderstorms and showers later in the week. Heat will return – the weather service said heat risks could range from “severe” to “extreme” in parts of the West through the weekend.
Dozens of people died as temperatures broke records this summer. According to AccuWeather, temperatures in more than 50 cities in California and Nevada set new records in the first five days of July. At least 30 people have died due to heat in the western region this month.
Contributed by Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
