Multiple tornadoes were reported to have touched down across parts of the South and the Midwest on Wednesday, as people in several states began to feel the effects of a powerful storm system that was expected to last for several days.
The tornadoes knocked down trees, disrupted power, and damaged homes and businesses, the authorities said. The National Weather Service issued tornado watches and warnings on Wednesday across an area that stretched from Arkansas to Illinois.
Over 200,000 customers across Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee were without power late Wednesday. Over half of those were in Indiana.
Nineteen tornadoes had been reported since Wednesday morning across Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Illinois, according to the Weather Service. Nine were in Missouri.
One was reported to have touched down in Nevada, Mo., on Wednesday. Gary Edwards, the city manager, said in an email that the damage was extensive. There were reports of one injury, he said.
In Arkansas, the Weather Service said it had visual confirmation that a tornado had touched down in Almyra, a largely rural area. Lacey Kanipe, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, said the agency had received reports of tornadoes on the ground.
In Kentucky, a tornado narrowly missed the Weather Service’s office in the city of Paducah, knocking out its main power supply, the agency said on social media.
The storm system originated on the West Coast on Monday and churned across the Plains on Tuesday. But forecasters predicted that thunderstorms could produce destructive winds, large hail and significant long-track tornadoes across an area that included parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
Forecasters have warned that the storm system generating the tornadoes was expected to stall by Thursday, and that 10 to 15 inches of rain may fall in some parts of the South and Midwest over the next five days. That has prompted officials in some states to issue flooding alerts.
Nazaneen Ghaffar, Judson Jones and Yan Zhuang contributed reporting.
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