At least 20 injured in rare Dec. tornadoes

Associated Press

TAYLORVILLE, Ill.

Residents in central Illinois on Sunday assessed damage after rare December tornadoes that ripped roofs off homes, downed power lines and injured at least 20 people the day before.

The severe weather in Illinois was part of a line of thunderstorms that raked areas of the central U.S. late Friday and into Saturday, killing one person in Missouri. Tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service sent crews Sunday to survey the hardest-hit areas in Illinois; it has confirmed tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois and was working to verify reports of tornadoes in Arkansas.

The NWS says peak months for tornadoes in much of the Midwest are April and June.