Storms in Midwest leave string of tornadoes, flooding

ST. LOUIS -- Dangerous storms left a string of more than 30 tornadoes across the central U.S., damaging homes in Oklahoma, demolishing a racetrack grandstand in Missouri and inundating the region with water over a short period.

Two deaths, both in Missouri, were blamed on the severe weather that started in the Southern Plains on Monday night and moved to the northeast. Missouri and parts of Illinois and Arkansas were in the crosshairs Tuesday. By today, the storm will move into Great Lakes region, where it will weaken. But another storm system was gathering steam for later this week, potentially covering an area from Texas to Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.

Patrick Marsh, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, said eyewitnesses reported 26 tornadoes Monday and six more Tuesday. One, near Tulsa, was a mile wide with winds in the range of 111 mph to 135 mph.

"It certainly isn't anything to mess with," Marsh said.

A tornado early Tuesday near Tulsa International Airport injured one person and damaged about a dozen homes. The airport was unscathed, but passengers were moved into shelters for about 30 minutes and several flights were delayed.

Tulsa Area Emergency Management spokeswoman Kim MacLeod said crews rescued a man who was pinned under a tree. In Arkansas, crews freed a woman trapped under a tree toppled by strong winds. Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Melody Daniel said the woman was alert and talking.

Storms on Monday evening flipped campers at Lucas Oil Speedway in Hickory County, Missouri, injuring seven people, four of whom were taken to hospitals. The speedway's grandstand also was destroyed, forcing cancellation of racing this weekend that was expected to draw about 3,000 campers.

Another twister Tuesday afternoon hit a drive-through wild animal park in southern Missouri. Webster County Emergency Management director Tom Simmons said buildings were damaged at the Wild Animal Safari near Strafford, but there were no reports people or animals were injured. All of the animals were accounted for.

Simmons said about a half-dozen homes were damaged in the county. A tractor-trailer was blown off a highway.

Heavy rain was called a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield, Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said an SUV skidded across the center of U.S. 160 and struck a tractor-trailer, killing both people in the SUV, Brandon Beasley, 23, and his 24-year-old wife, Christin, of Willard, Missouri.

Missouri authorities also reported several water rescues from flash flooding. Among them was an 18-year-old woman who was swept off a flooded road near Joplin on Monday and stranded overnight until nearby residents heard her yelling. She had only minor injuries.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency, citing worsening flood concerns and soil inundation, as well as forecasts calling severe storms and possible tornadoes into this morning.

"The very heavy rainfall yesterday and today, combined with saturated soil and very high water levels on many rivers and streams have created dangerous conditions around the state," Parson, a Republican, said in a statement.

Flooding was also an issue in Oklahoma, where the Oklahoma Department of Transportation shut down Interstate 40 in El Reno, about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City, because of high water. The National Weather Service says up to 5 inches of rain had fallen since Monday. In El Reno and Stillwater, home to Oklahoma State University about 55 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, emergency responders rescued people from their homes.

With a potentially dangerous storm bearing down on St. Louis, baseball's Cardinals took no chances, calling off a Tuesday night game against the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals.

Heavy snow melt from the north and significant spring rains led to waves of flooding in Missouri, and President Donald Trump on Monday issued a major disaster declaration for 13 counties in the state damaged by March flooding.

The Missouri River is expected to reach major flood stage by the end of the week at Jefferson City, Hermann, St. Charles and elsewhere. The levee near Jefferson City's airport holds back water up to 30 feet, Cole County emergency manager Bill Farr said, but the National Weather Service expects a crest of 32.3 feet Thursday. Sandbagging won't help because the levee is too long, he said.

"We're just keeping our fingers crossed," Farr said.