LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Another wave of severe storms pummeled a wide swath of the United States and Canada, leading to flash floods and water rescues Wednesday, July 17, in the Ozark Mountains, dropping a destructive tornado that blew a B-52 bomber off its base in upstate New York, and stranding drivers in high water around Toronto.
The relentless series of storms has caused deaths or damage from the Plains to New England this week. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power and air conditioning during days of sweltering heat.
As much as 11 inches of rain fell overnight into Wednesday on parts of the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri, the National Weather Service said.
At least 80 people had to evacuate a nursing home in Yellville, Arkansas, and were taken to a community center, said Lacey Kanipe, a spokesperson for state emergency management. A section of a bridge washed out, and a historic courthouse flooded.
As many as 40 residents had to flee their homes in the city of Flippin, Kanipe said, and there was also a swift-water rescue involving a recreational vehicle in neighboring Baxter County. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the flooding.
Bill Scruggs and his crew from Wild Bill’s Outfitter, based south of Yellville, scrambled to save their canoes and kayaks from a sandbar in the Buffalo National River as waters quickly rose before dawn Wednesday.
“Right now, that gravel bar is 8 feet (2.4 meters) underwater, and it’s still coming up,” Scruggs said.
Nearly 5 inches of rain fell overnight on the tourist hub of Branson, Missouri. Taney County Sheriff Brad Daniels said several campgrounds were evacuated and people had to be rescued from a flooded mobile home park in nearby Hollister.
Cities across upstate New York declared states of emergency after a storm swept through Tuesday with high winds and spectacular lightning. A confirmed tornado in the city of Rome tipped over vehicles and left streets clogged with tree debris, power poles and electrical transformers.
The winds were fierce enough to knock a tourist attraction, a B-52 bomber, off its pedestal at Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Steeples crumbled and roofs were torn apart at First Presbyterian Church and St. Mary’s Church, both built in the 1800s. St. Mary’s is not an active church and is privately owned.
“These are beautiful old churches. It breaks my heart,” Rome resident Barb Mulvey said on Facebook.
A Rome landmark, a mural of a Revolutionary War figure on horseback, was destroyed, along with the building on which it was painted. All that remained was an image of a horse hoof.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was “miraculous” no one was killed in Rome, a city of 31,000. She toured the small downtown Wednesday and said 22 buildings were damaged or destroyed. She described trees “collapsed like toothpicks,” houses with their roofs gone, and mobile homes tipped over with people inside.
She marveled at narrow escapes, including two children in a medical waiting room who emerged unscathed, though the building was partially “obliterated.”
Storm debris hit and killed an 82-year-old man who was outdoors about 30 miles away in Canastota, village administrator Jeremy Ryan said.
Trees fell on houses and cars Tuesday in Keene, New Hampshire, forcing some residents to evacuate. Around Toronto, flooding temporarily closed several major roads and left drivers stranded, the Canadian Press reported.
About 200,000 homes and businesses lacked power Wednesday in northeastern U.S. states, according to PowerOutage.us. The East Coast from Maine to the Carolinas was warned of weather that could feel hotter than 100 degrees in some places.
A storm helped bring under control a forest fire burning at a military bombing range in New Jersey as it dropped half an inch of rain, the state forest fire service said.
This week’s severe weather struck the Chicago area especially hard. The weather service said it confirmed 17 tornadoes hit northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, including 11 during a single stretch of extraordinary storms Monday night.
Utilities continued to restore power in the Midwest, where more than 100,000 homes and businesses in Illinois and Indiana still didn’t have electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.
Across the U.S., the storms have led to at least five deaths, including the one in New York. Flooding killed an 88-year-old couple who were in their car near Elsah, Illinois, on Tuesday and a 76-year-old passenger in a pickup in Rockford, Illinois, on Sunday. A fallen tree killed a 44-year-old woman in Cedar Lake, Indiana, on Monday.
By Andrew DeMillow and Ed White, The Associated Press, White reported from Detroit. Associated Press writers Karen Matthews in New York City, Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, and Nick Perry in Boston contributed to this report.
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