Tornadoes that tore through Iowa leave 5 dead, dozens injured

Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa Tuesday, with one carving a path of destruction through the town of Greenfield, officials said.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Tuesday's tornadoes killed four people in the Greenfield area, and local officials said a fifth person — a woman whose car was swept away in the wind — was killed by a twister about 40 kilometres away. Officials did not release the names of the victims because they were still notifying relatives.

Iowa Public Safety said it's believed that the number of people injured is likely higher.

The Greenfield tornado left a wide swath of obliterated homes, splintered trees and crumpled cars in the town of 2,000 located about 90 kilometres southwest of Des Moines.

The twister also ripped apart and crumpled massive power-producing wind turbines several kilometres outside the town.

Greenfield resident Kimberly Ergish, 33, and her husband dug through the debris that used to be their home Wednesday, looking for family photos and other salvageable items. There wasn't much left, she acknowledged.

"Most of it we can't save, but we're going to get what we can," she said, noting the reality of having her home destroyed in seconds hasn't really set in.  

"If it weren't for all the bumps and bruises and the achy bones, I would think that it didn't happen." 

Later Tuesday, the storms pummelled parts of Illinois and Wisconsin, knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers in the two states.

The severe weather turned south on Wednesday, and the U.S. National Weather Service was issuing tornado and flash flood warnings in Texas, as parts of the state — including Dallas — were under a tornado watch.

The weather service said initial surveys indicated at least an EF-3 tornado in Greenfield, but additional damage assessment could lead to a more powerful ranking.

The tornado appeared to have been on the ground for more than 60 kilometres, AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said. A satellite photo taken by a BlackSky Technology shows where the twister gouged a nearly straight path of destruction through the town, just south of Greenfield's centre square.

The tornado that decimated parts of Greenfield brought to life the worst-case scenario in Iowa that weather forecasters had feared, Porter said.

"Debris was lifted thousands of feet in the air and ended up falling to the ground several counties away from Greenfield. That's evidence of just how intense and deadly this tornado was."