Gov. Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency after a system of strong storms caused damage around St. Louis and other parts of Missouri. In Hazelwood, Mayor Matthew Robinson was on scene in one of the hardest hit neighborhoods. (April 11)
Carey Gillam Reuters
7:53 a.m. CDT, April 11, 2013

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Spring storms unleashed heavy snow, rain and high winds, including tornadoes, across parts of the central United States on Wednesday, leaving thousands of residents and businesses without power and causing scattered property damage.

At least three people were taken to the hospital with injuries attributed to severe weather in Van Buren County, Arkansas, where an apparent twister tore through a church near the town of Clinton, damaged other buildings and uprooted trees, officials said.
 
 
Electricity was knocked out to some 4,000 customers Wednesday night, nearly half of them around Clinton, utility officials reported.

In Missouri, about 15 homes were damaged by high winds believed to be from tornado activity in the suburbs west and northwest of St. Louis, the bulk of them in the community of Hazelwood, said Bill Roach, a spokesman for the St. Louis County office of emergency management.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and issued a bulletin saying that "a system of strong storms and tornadoes caused damage in the St. Louis region and other areas of the state."

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