High winds lash U.S. Midwest
Strong winds and torrential rain buffeted the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday, as forecasters predicted the giant storm could be the most powerful to hit Illinois in more than seven decades.
The massive storm muscled its way across an area that stretched from the Dakotas to the eastern Great Lakes. Severe thunderstorm warnings blanketed much of the Midwest, and tornado watches were issued from Arkansas to Ohio. Several hundred flights were cancelled and others delayed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, a major hub for American and United airlines.
The storm is also forecast to hit southern Ontario, with the southwestern part of the province expected to be the hardest hit by damaging winds.
CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said the storm can now officially be called a "weather bomb," a term for a rapidly intensifying storm, with a quick drop in atmospheric pressure.
The U.S. National Weather Service said it expected sustained winds of about 65 kilometres an hour with gusts up to 100 km/h.
Commuters in the Chicago area faced blustery, wind-driven rain as they waited for trains to take them downtown before dawn. Some huddled underneath train overpasses to stay out of the gusts, dashing to the platform at the last minute.
In the city's downtown Loop, construction workers wore heavy slickers and held onto their hard hats, heavy metal streets signs rattled against their posts and umbrellas provided relief only for as long as they could last.
A tornado touched down in Racine County, Wis., where two people were injured when a section of roof was torn off a tractor factory, and in Van Wert County, Ohio, where a barn was flattened and a tractor-trailer and camper flipped over.
A tornado also touched down in Peotone, Ill., where three people were injured when a home's roof came off, and twisters were suspected in several other states.
In St. Louis, strong pre-dawn winds were blamed for a partial building collapse that sent bricks, mortar, roofing and some window air-conditioning units raining down onto a sidewalk. No one was injured, and inspectors were examining the 1920s-era building.
At one point, more than 145,000 homes and businesses were without power in Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and the St. Louis area.
Meanwhile, much of North Dakota was under a blizzard warning. The weather service said up to 25 centimetres of snow could fall in some areas into early Wednesday.
Eleven states are under a high wind warning. Those states are: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio and parts of Kentucky.