Perilous Times and Climate Change
Wicked Wild Winds, Tornadoes, Continue to Slam U.S. Midwest
A home destroyed by a storm is shown in Vale, N.C., on Wednesday after
powerful thunderstorms moved through the area. At least 11 people were
hurt and eight homes damaged when a possible tornado touched down in
Lincoln County in western North Carolina on Tuesday evening.
By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Wicked Wild Weather continues today after a wild two-day storm that
pummeled the Midwest and Southeast.
Punishing wind, tornadoes and snow left tens of thousands without
electricity, dozens injured, extensive property damage and travel havoc.
Winds that howled up to 60 mph Wednesday are forecast to slacken across
the Midwest, Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Moore said.
Severe thunderstorms will be confined primarily to the Southeast coast,
where wind damage will be the biggest threat in the coastal Carolinas,
eastern Georgia and northern Florida, Moore said.
Blowing snow that dumped up to 8 inches on parts of North Dakota and
Minnesota will taper off.
Thirty-four tornadoes ripped through nine states Tuesday and Wednesday,
the Storm Prediction Center reported. In Vale, N.C., a tornado injured
11 people.
"We thought we were going to die," Jessica Vargas said. "We didn't have
time to do anything. We all just listened and prayed for our lives."
The storm triggered travel delays at several airports Wednesday,
according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flights were delayed
in Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Newark and at New York's John F.
Kennedy International Airport.
Airlines at Chicago O'Hare International Airport canceled 109 flights
after shelving more than 500 Tuesday, airport authorities said.
At midday Wednesday, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was
operating only one runway, allowing for about 26 arrivals an hour.
Airport spokesman Pat Hogan said that was about one-third the normal
capacity. By late afternoon, more than one-fifth of departing flights
had been canceled.
The screaming winds were the biggest story over the past two days in
the upper Midwest.
"I don't think I've ever experienced wind like this in Minnesota," said
Chuck Nicholay, holding onto his hat at a high school football game
Tuesday night in New Prague.
Fliers will experience continuing fallout as people try to rebook after
canceled flights jam the system.
"You don't come out of this kind of disruption without some residue,"
said Meara McLaughlin, vice president of FlightStats. "I think it's
going to be a while before everything really levels out again."
Contributing: Roger Yu and Charisse Jones, USA TODAY; Boyd Huppert and
Jeff Olsen, KARE-TV, Minneapolis; and Associated Press