LITTLE ROCK — Another wave of severe storms battered swaths of the United States and Canada, causing flash flooding and water rescues in Missouri on Wednesday, a tornado devasting an upstate New York community and leaving drivers stranded in high water around Toronto.
This week, a relentless series of storms caused death or destruction from the Plains to New England. Hundreds of thousands lost power and air conditioning during sweltering days.
Upstate New York cities are cleaning up after a storm swept through upstate New York on Tuesday, bringing with it strong winds, spectacular lightning and flying debris, killing one person.
In the small town of Rome, New York, a confirmed tornado ripped off roofs, overturned vehicles and reduced several buildings to rubble.
First Presbyterian Church and St. Mary's Church, both built in the 1800s, had their steeples collapsed and their roofs torn off. Copper plates from the roof of the First Presbyterian Church were found on a telephone pole a quarter of a mile away.
“These are beautiful old churches. It breaks my heart,” Rome resident Barb Mulvey said on Facebook.
The winds were strong enough to move a B-52 bomber, a multi-ton tourist attraction on display at the Griffith Business and Technology Park. A landmark mural of Revolutionary War figures on horseback in Rome was destroyed, as was the building on which it was painted. Only an image of a horse's hoof remains.
Speaking outside St. Mary's Church, Governor Kathy Hochul said it was a “miracle” that no one was killed in the city of 31,000 people. She visited the city center on Wednesday and said 22 buildings had been damaged or destroyed. She described seeing trees “fallen like toothpicks” and told of an overturned mobile home with people inside. The governor was surprised by the narrow escape, including that two children in the medical waiting room were unharmed, although parts of the building were “destroyed”.
The National Weather Service said it was still investigating the damage in Rome, but the damage found so far was consistent with an EF2 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with estimated wind speeds of up to 135 mph. This scale rates EF2 as “significant.”
Bruce Gendron, a regional vice president for Grand Healthcare, which operates two nursing homes in Rome, said the tornado carved a path between the homes, sparing them the worst damage, but strong winds and Heavy rain battered the building, causing power outages.
He said he was at a nursing home when the storm hit and the winds were so strong that staff were forced to move residents away from their windows to prevent trees from falling into the building.
He said the nursing home's backup generators were activated and most systems remained intact until power was restored to the facility Wednesday afternoon.
“To us residents of Rome: Don't lose heart. This community is resilient and we will rebuild,” Mayor Jeff Lanigan said.
Village Administrator Jeremy Ryan said storm debris struck and killed an 82-year-old man about 30 miles away in Canastota. Hochul said three houses collapsed and 30 buildings were damaged in the community.
Nearly 5 inches of rain fell overnight in the tourist center of Branson, Missouri. People were also rescued from the flooded mobile home park.
Trees fell in Keene, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, hitting homes and cars and forcing some residents to evacuate. Flooding temporarily closed several major roads around Toronto, leaving drivers stranded. Authorities said they rescued at least 14 people from highway flooding.
A storm that brought half an inch of rain helped contain a forest fire burning at a New Jersey military bombing range, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
This week's severe weather has hit the Chicago area particularly hard. The weather service said at least 18 tornadoes have been confirmed so far in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana: six on Sunday and 12 horrific tornadoes on Monday night.
Senior Meteorologist Brett Borchardt explained that the larger group of storms emerged from a persistent storm that started in Iowa and rolled eastward for several hours.
“It's not unprecedented, but it's unusual. When we get storms like this, they are prolific tornado makers,” he said.
Across the United States, the storm has killed at least five people, including one in New York. An 88-year-old couple was killed in their vehicle near Elsa, Illinois, on Tuesday, and a 76-year-old passenger in a pickup truck was killed in Rockford, Illinois, on Sunday. A fallen tree killed a 44-year-old woman in Cedar Lake, Indiana, on Monday.
Information for this article was provided by Karen Matthews, Anthony Izaguirre and Nick Perry of the Associated Press.
A person walks through Union Station amid flooding following heavy rain on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Toronto.
Cars in the Don River Valley are partially flooded after heavy rains in Toronto on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Crews clear downed trees at Tanglewood Estates in Keene, New Hampshire, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, following a severe storm Tuesday night. (Christopher Rudd/Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
A B-52 on display outside Griffith Business Park is blown from its mooring by a tornado on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Rome, New York. A wave of severe storms from the Plains to New England caused loss of life and property last week. (John Clifford/Associated Press Daily Sentinel)
Alexandra Figueroa, 33, cools off with her 3-year-old son Rubannyel Soto on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyger Williams/Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Press)
A storm hit Tanglewood Estates in Keene, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, scattering downed trees.
Trees caused by a tornado line the ground Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Rome, New York. Casualties and property damage to New England. (John Clifford/Associated Press Daily Sentinel)
A giant tree blocks the road on Maple Leaf Avenue near Keene Middle School in New Hampshire after a severe storm on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
This photo provided by CAP Media shows a B-52 blown from its moorings, lower left, by a tornado on display outside Griffith Business Park, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Rome, New York . (Courtesy of Associated Press CAP Media)