28 Apr 2014

US tornado outbreak leaves 17 dead

Weather Presenter

Severe thunderstorms spawned a number of tornadoes across the US Plains on Sunday, killing at least 17 people and leaving a trail of damage.

Arkansas was the worst hit state, with the Little Rock suburb of Mayflower seeing an 80-mile path of destruction carved through the area.

The tornado hit the east side of Mayflower around 7.30pm, local time, ripping down trees, bringing down power lines, which made it difficult for emergency services to find the worst hit areas in the dark.

Will Elder, an official in Mayflower said: “It’s extremely hazardous here right now. The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they will have to proceed with caution.”

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said on its website 10 deaths had been reported in Faulkner, five in Pulaski county and one in White county.

Scenes emerged of mangled, overturned cars, some with people still inside, lining miles of Interstate 40 near Mayflower, 22 miles (35 km) northwest of state capital Little Rock.

Authorities closed the route, with some motorists helping to search for victims, whilst others stood at the side of the road, dazed.

Another person was killed in a tornado in the small town of Quapaw, in the northeast corner of neighbouring Oklahoma, according to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.

The storm system on Sunday produced tornadoes that struck several other states, including Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.

Up until the weekend, the US had seen its quietest start to tornado season in 60 years, with the first tornado death not recorded until Sunday, when a North Carolina infant who was injured by a twister on Friday died at a hospital.

On average, around 1,200 tornadoes affect the US each year, with peaks occurring along the Gulf coast earlier in spring, shifting to the southern plains from May to June, before reaching the northern plains and Midwest in June and July.

Although they can occur anywhere, tornadoes are most prevalent in tornado alley in the US, where the flat low-lying central plains offer an ideal breeding ground for severe storms to form and roam for mile after mile.

The risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is expected to transfer eastwards on Monday, stretching from the Gulf coast, through the Mississippi valley, towards the Great Lakes.