CNN TOPSTORIES

3 min ago

Sullivan County official says storm destroyed his home, trapping his wife inside

From CNN's Dave Alsup

Jim Pirtle, the emergency management director for Sullivan County, Illinois, told CNN his wife became trapped inside his family's home as a storm ripped through the county Friday night, destroying the house.

Their son was able to rescue her, he said.

“I called (my wife) 45 minutes before it hit. I told her, 'Robin, you need to go somewhere.' We don’t have a basement," Pirtle said. "I was on the phone with her and she was crying, ‘Jim I love you’ and it started tearing the house apart.”

“We got hit bad,” Pirtle said speaking by phone from Florida.

The official was out of state when the severe weather hit Sullivan County. He said he has been working with emergency officials remotely.

The storm hit the southern side of the city and "destroyed a lot of homes," Pirtle said.

“I’m not sure about fatalities, yet,” he added. “We still got people missing."

20 min ago

More than 50 preliminary tornado reports made in six states

People help remove personal items from a storm damaged home after a tornado in Johnson County, Iowa, on Friday. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/AP)

The number of preliminary tornado reports during Friday's storms has ticked up to at least 53, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Here's where they have been reported:

Illinois: 22
Arkansas: 12
Iowa: 8
Wisconsin: 5
Tennessee: 4
Mississippi: 2

44 min ago

Multiple houses with "severe damage" in Sullivan, Indiana

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

Multiple houses in the small city of Sullivan, Indiana, have sustained “severe damage” due to storms in the area, said Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb.

“We need all citizens to stay safe and stay put,” Lamb said in a Facebook post overnight. “First responders need clear streets so they can tend to affected areas. Please pray for the Sullivan families and public safety personnel.”

Sullivan is around 100 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

The mayor also thanked local police, fire, and ambulance services for their assistance.

Lamb said that a tornado had touched down in the area, however, the National Weather Service has not confirmed any of the storms in the state are tornadoes.

According to meteorologist Andrew White with the Indianapolis Office of the National Weather Service, three Indiana counties — Howard, Johnson, and Sullivan — have been hit hard by storms.

Sullivan County was under a tornado warning and a special statement had been sent out on the storm that moved through the county.

50 min ago

New tornado watch issued for portions of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee

From CNN meteorologist Mike Saenz

A tornado watch is in effect for northern Alabama, northern Mississippi and central Tennessee until 7:00 a.m. CDT (8 a.m. ET) Saturday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

That includes the cities of Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama.

The areas could see tornadoes rated as EF-2 or higher in intensity, with destructive winds topping 111 mph. Storms could also bring wind gusts up to 70 mph and isolated events of hail nearly the size of an egg.

42 min ago

1 dead, dozens injured after the roof of an Illinois theater collapses on concertgoers

From CNN's Rebekah Riess, Elizabeth Wolfe and Mike Saenz

Rescuers work the scene at the Apollo Theatre after a severe spring storm caused damage and injuries during a concert, late Friday in Belvidere, Illinois. (Matt Marton/AP)

More than 200 people were packed inside the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, for an event when its roof collapsed Friday night, leaving one person dead and dozens injured, the city fire chief said.

The collapse occurred as a storm hit Belvidere's Boone County, with winds in the area reported to be in excess of 50 mph. It is not yet clear whether the storm caused the theater's roof to cave in.

First responders arrived within minutes of the collapse and began pulling people from the debris, Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said.

Twenty-eight people were taken to hospital by ambulance, he said, adding that five had severe injuries.

Rescue teams performed an initial search of the theater and were carrying out a second search, "looking into the stabilization of the building,” Schadle said.

The venue's event coordinator estimated that approximately 260 concertgoers, staff and performers were in the theater, the chief said. The night's headliner, metal band Morbid Angel, announced on Facebook that their show was canceled due to the weather.

One of the other bands set to play, Revocation, said in a Facebook post that "everyone in the bands and crew are safe." It added, "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this disaster."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a tweet that his office is “closely monitoring” the situation.

2 hr 35 min ago

New tornado watch issued for parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio

From CNN meteorologist Mike Saenz

A tornado watch is in effect for southeastern Indiana, northern Kentucky and western Ohio until 5 a.m. EDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

This includes Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Areas impacted by the brewing storms could see a handful of tornadoes, wind gusts of up to 70 mph, and egg-sized hail.

2 hr 34 min ago

Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses are without power across the central US

From CNN's Paradise Afshar

A tree lays on its side in an apartment complex in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP)

Nearly 300,000 energy customers are in the dark late Friday night in states impacted by storms sweeping through large swaths of the central US, according to tracker PowerOutage.us.

Illinois has the most outages reported with more than 100,000 customers without power, followed by nearly 69,000 outages in Arkansas, the tracker shows.

Here's a run down so far:

Illinois: 105,334 customers without power
Arkansas: 68,845
Indiana: 33,205
Tennessee: 25,204
Iowa: 25,048
Wisconsin: 13,627
Missouri: 16,580
Michigan: 10,863

3 hr 43 min ago

5 treated in hospital after tornado touches down in Covington, Tennessee

From CNN’s Paradise Afshar

Five people are being treated in a Covington, Tennessee, hospital after a tornado touched down in the city, a hospital official said.

The Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton was not damaged by the storm and its staff are still able to receive and treat patients, Kimberly Alexander, director of media relations for Baptist Memorial Health Care, said.

The tornado has rendered the city "impassable," the Covington Police Department said on Facebook Friday night, sharing photos of roads blocked by downed power poles and large trees toppled in front of homes.

Police asked residents to stay off the roads due to hazards and so emergency crews can pass through to critical areas.

“Please stay home,” Covington Mayor Jan Hensley said in a social media post. “Do not drive around looking. Power lines are down. We are trying to get cleaned up.”

3 hr 34 min ago

More than 40 preliminary tornado reports made in six states

A team from Summit Energy say a prayer together before investigating a burst gas line in Cammack Village after a tornado swept through the area Friday, March 31, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP)

The number of preliminary tornado reports made in the US Friday has risen to 43, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Here's where they have been reported:

Illinois: 16
Arkansas: 12
Iowa: 8
Wisconsin: 3
Tennessee: 2
Mississippi: 2

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