Tornadoes tore through parts of Iowa and Illinois on Thursday in what forecasters from the National Weather Service warned is a “particularly dangerous situation.”
People across the Midwest should be on alert for severe weather, the weather agency said, noting that a “large and extremely dangerous” twister was spotted near Camanche, Iowa at 5:46 p.m. (6:46 p.m. ET).
As reports of tornadoes in Illinois, Ohio and Iowa grew, ominous storm images quickly surfaced on social media.
More tornadoes were later reported near the Illinois community of Ashton, which also saw tennis ball-sized hail, and around Rockford, which is Illinois’ third largest city, about 85 miles northwest of Chicago.
Lee County, Illinois, which is about 50 miles south of Rockford, also had a tornado go through, county Emergency Management Agency Director Kevin Lalley said.
“We do have damage at this time,” Lalley said. “I’m trying to confirm the area of the image and the extent.”
Another tornado was reported south of Toledo, Ohio.
The twisters are part of a broader severe weather pattern that was expected to affect about 95 million people Thursday, including those in major cities such as Chicago and St. Louis.
Eight tornadoes were reported Wednesday in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, the Storm Prediction Center said.
The National Weather Service indicated a tornado may have touched down in the small town of Potosi, Missouri, about 70 miles from St. Louis.
More storms are expected in the Midwest, Mississippi River Valley, Tennessee River Valley and near the southern Great Lakes, the Weather Service said.
