Images: Storms pound Midwest
In storm-weary middle America, many people were counting themselves fortunate after powerful storms swept through the region for the third time in four days but apparently claimed no lives. Dozens of people were injured, mobile homes were flipped and roofs were torn off houses when tornadoes and thunderstorms hit Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and other states Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, residents in Joplin, Mo., are cleaning up from this weekend’s deadly tornado.
This aerial photograph shows a street filled with homes destroyed by Tuesdays tornado in Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The new cluster of storms, which followed a system that spawned the massive twister that killed more than 120 people in Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, moved into the Oklahoma City area Tuesday evening as worried commuters rushed home.
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A guitar sits among the remains of a destroyed two-story barn on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Ellinwood, Kan. Several tornadoes ravaged parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Missouri this week, causing extensive damage and taking lives.
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People begin the cleanup process at a home destroyed by Tuesdays tornado, in Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Violent storms rumbled through the central U.S. on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes that turned homes into splintered wreckage, killing at least 14 people over two days and hampering rescue efforts in a city slammed by a massive twister days earlier.
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A line of severe storms cross the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tenn., passing by the Memphis Pyramid on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The dark formation was reported a few minutes earlier as a tornado in West Memphis, Ark.
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A man looks through the debris of a house destroyed by a tornado, Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in Denning, Ark. Violent storms rumbled through the central U.S., spawning tornadoes that turned homes into splintered wreckage while killing at least 14 people over two days.
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Two tornado damaged homes are pictured in an aerial photo in Newcastle, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
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Family and friends of a tornado victim clean-up and sort through debris, Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at a mobile home where one death occurred during a Tuesday, May 24, 2011 tornado in Chickasha, Okla. More than a dozen people died in the latest round of violent weather.
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Pettis County Sheriffs Deputy Wes Burton stands guard, Wednesday, May 25, 2011, behind a truck stop in Sedalia, Mo., to prevent people from entering a trailer park that was off-limits to the public because of gas leaks and downed power lines from a tornado strike.
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This aerial photograph shows the remains of several structures destroyed by Tuesdays tornado in Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The new cluster of storms, which followed a system that spawned the massive twister that killed more than 120 people in Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, moved into the Oklahoma City area Tuesday evening as worried commuters rushed home.
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People make their way through the wreckage of a home damaged by a tornado in Sedalia, Mo., on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Dan Gill)
People survey damage in the aftermath of a tornado east of Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
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Storm winds cause a large branch to rest on two cars in Paducah, Ky., Wednesday, May, 25, 2011. Storm shelters opened in western Kentucky on Wednesday as the region braced for potentially dangerous storms barreling toward the state from the tornado-ravaged Midwest.
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Residents of Etna, Ark. in southeast Franklin County search through debris on Wednesday morning after a tornado killed 4 people late Tuesday night.
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People salvage items from the home of Lee Carson, left, on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Big Rock, Tenn. A storm went through the town on Monday, tearing the roof off the house. Carson rode out the storm in the kitchen.
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Duke looks up from a storm shelter at the Robertson home in Piedmont, Okla., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Duke was actually in the bathtub during the start of the tornado, and later found running in a pasture. Violent thunderstorms roared across middle America on Tuesday, killing seven people in two states, with several tornadoes touching down in Oklahoma.
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Lightning rips through the sky above the First Methodist Church in Paris, Texas Tuesday, May 24, 2011 as more severe weather formed over Northeast Texas.
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The rear windshield of a parked car at Love Field Airport was shattered by hail during severe weather that also produced a tornado nearby Tuesday May 24, 2011. Several tornadoes and grapefruit-sized hail were reported throughout the DFW area.
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Janet McGraw carries debris blown from a home destroyed in Tuesdays tornado in Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Several tornadoes ravaged parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Missouri this week, causing extensive damage and taking lives.
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Heavy rain causes roadway flooding in the Detroit area Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The weather service says damaging winds and large hail are possible into Wednesday night. Tornado watches are in effect for Berrien, Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties in southwestern Michigan.
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Heavy rain causes roadway flooding in the Detroit area Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The weather service says damaging winds and large hail are possible into Wednesday night. Tornado watches are in effect for Berrien, Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties in southwestern Michigan.
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Family and friends of a tornado victim clean-up and sort through debris, Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at a mobile home where one death occurred during a Tuesday, May 24, 2011 tornado in Chickasha, Okla. More than a dozen people died in the latest round of violent weather.
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Cassadie Ray, age 13, with the Soldier Creek Church of Christ youth group, looks through rubble in the second story of a house destroyed by a Tuesdays tornado, in Piedmont, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
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Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin tours a mobile home park devastated by Tuesdays tornado in Chickasha, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. One person died at the mobile home park due to the tornado. Violent storms rumbled through the central U.S. on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes that turned homes into splintered wreckage, killing at least 14 people over two days and hampering rescue efforts in a city slammed by a massive twister days earlier.
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Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, center, is surrounded by media as she talks with Sarah Hartzell, right, at an apartment complex damaged by Tuesdays tornado in Chickasha, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
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Denton Fire and Rescue crews cover a house after it was damaged by a storm that hit Denton, Texas Tuesday night on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The storms also blew through North Texas, but the damage seemed to be confined to roofs and trees and lawn furniture and play equipment.
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In this Tuesday, May 24, 2011 photo, a tornado churns through the countryside near Canton, Okla. The tornado caused damage to Canton Lake, a popular vacation site North of Canton.
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Cars drive down debris-lined streets on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. A tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, wiping out neighborhoods and killing at least 123 people.
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Debra Younger surveys her sons leveled home in Joplin, Mo. Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Six people including her son escaped major injuries huddled in the bathroom of the home which was totally blown away. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 122 people.
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Tera Hall salvages items from a friends destroyed home in Joplin, Mo. Wednesday, May 25, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 123 people.
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Sandra Pommert reacts to finding a photograph of her parents farm among the rubble of her sisters tornado-demolished house on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. Her sister, Judy Flenner, is recovering after having a mild heart attack following Sundays storm that killed at least 122 people.
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Travis Blizzard, left, salvages items from his car with the help of friends Matt Jordan, center, and Dylan Shyler, right, on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. A tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, wiping out neighborhoods and killing at least 122 people.
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Lisa Bowyer walks past the rubble from her tornado-destroyed home on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. A tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, wiping out neighborhoods and killing at least 123 people.
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Florene Renfro, 85, breaks down as she goes through her damaged home Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin , Mo. Renfro was able to save herself by hiding in a tiny linen closet and holding on to the door handle as massive tornado severely damaged her house Sunday night. He was knocking, but I wouldnt let him in, she said of the tornado.
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Utility crews work to repair a power line snapped by storms in Joplin, Mo., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. At least 123 people were killed and hundreds more injured when a tornado cut a destructive path through Joplin on Sunday evening.
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The Greenbriar Nursing Home lies in ruins in Joplin, Mo. Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Eleven residents of the facility died when an EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 123 people.
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A Joplin resident walks through a devastated neighborhood in Joplin, Mo. Wednesday, May 25, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 123 people.
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A message is seen on the side of a building on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. A tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, wiping out neighborhoods and killing at least 122 people. Violent storms rumbled through the central U.S. on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes that turned homes into splintered wreckage, killing at least 14 people over two days and hampering rescue efforts in a city slammed by a massive twister days earlier.
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A sign is seen in a devastated neighborhood in Joplin, Mo. Wednesday, May 25, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 123 people.
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