Massive storm brings 2nd day of rain and wind

Associated Press

VALE, N.C.

Yolanda Corona prayed she wouldn’t die.

She was watching television with 10 relatives when winds from a massive storm tearing across the U.S. roared through her neighborhood.

The windows blew out of the living room. The chimney caved in. A tree plunged through the roof.

The family huddled in a back bedroom, whispering prayers, crying and holding each other. Somehow, they survived.

No one was seriously hurt, but now the family must find somewhere to live.

The rare, fast-moving storm that destroyed their home also brought winds up to 81 mph, rain and tornadoes that started in the Midwest on Tuesday and continued Wednesday, moving into the southern and eastern U.S.

In suburban Chicago, Helen Miller, 41, was hurt when a branch fell about 65 feet from a large tree, crashed into her car and impaled her stomach. Doctors removed the branch, and Miller’s husband said she asked him to hang on to it.

The National Weather Service confirmed that eight tornadoes touched down in Indiana on Tuesday but that no serious damage or injuries were reported. Ohio saw six twisters, including one with gusts of at least 111 mph that ripped through a village in the northwest part of the state, destroying several homes. Another flattened a barn and carried a large windmill 40 yards.

Pat Tanner, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C., said a cold front is moving east and meeting warm, moist air, causing instability in the atmosphere and spawning the storms.

The storm brought heavy snow and winds up to 60 mph to the Dakotas for a second day Wednesday, toppling signs, power lines and trees. Most of the snow, about 8 inches, was reported in central North Dakota, and travel in much of the state was difficult.

In Iowa, winds gusted to more than 50 mph in some places Wednesday, overturning semis on a highway and knocking down power lines.