Winter Storm Cleon: Next Phase to Bring Major Ice Storm to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas; Snow From Plains to Ohio Valley

Winter Storm Cleon, the third named winter storm of the 2013-14 season, has already dumped a swath of locally heavy snow from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest. In both of those regions, some locations have received over 2 feet of snow.

(MORE: Minute-by-Minute Winter Weather Updates | State-by-State Impact)

Now, Cleon is poised to deliver its next wintry punch – a significant snow and ice storm that will stretch from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley as we close out the workweek. First, let's mop up the last bits of Cleon's impacts on the Rockies and Midwest.

Snow Forecast: Rockies & Upper Midwest

Rockies, Upper Midwest Radar

• INTERACTIVE RADAR

Rain and Snow Forecast

Rain and Snow Forecast

In the Rockies, snow will sag south into southern Colorado and New Mexico Wednesday night,becoming more scattered and diminishing in intensity with time.

As the next phase of Cleon organizes Thursday,there may be a temporary uptick in snowfall over the mountains of central New Mexico, especially on the eastern slopes with some upslope flow. Snowfall amounts should be manageable.

(SKI: Latest conditions | Deepest Snow)

Winter driving conditions can be expected along I-25 in Colorado and northern New Mexico as well asI-40 over Tijeras Canyon through the mountains east of Albuquerque.

Meanwhile, in the Upper Midwest, snow will continue Wednesday night from eastern North Dakota across northern Minnesota into far northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. However, it will be shrinking in coverage and intensity later at night as this portion of the storm lifts north, bringing snow to an end from south to north. Snow will end across this region on Thursday with little additional accumulation after sunrise in most areas.

Bitterly cold wind chills will be invading most of the Upper Midwest as blustery winds and even colder temperatures set in.

(MORE: Arctic Blast Invading)

The additional snowfall in northeast Minnesota and far northwest Wisconsin will bring storm totals there into the 15 to 30 inch range in some areas, including the snow that's already fallen.

(MORE: Snow Reports from Cleon)

(FORECASTS: Grand Forks, N.D. | Duluth, Minn.)

Significant Ice Storm: Southern Plains to Ohio Valley

Southern Plains Radar

Thursday's Forecast

Friday's Forecast

Cleon Travel Impact

Power Outage Potential

Cleon's next chapter begins Thursday as precipitation breaks out along the leading edge of the arctic air across the Southern Plains.

Precipitation is expected to expand from West Texas across parts of Oklahoma and into the Ozarks on Thursday. With surface temperatures below freezing and relatively warm air a few thousand feet above the ground, much of this will come down as an icy mixture of freezing rain and sleet. Rain will rapidly expand across the Ohio Valley during the day as well, but the cold air will not have arrived there yet.

By Thursday night, precipitation becomes heavier in parts of the Southern Plains, leading to a threat of significant icing in north Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and parts of western and northern Arkansas. North of those areas, a transition to snow can be expected along much of the I-44 corridor in Oklahoma and Missouri. East of the Mississippi, some of the rain will start changing over to freezing rain along the northern fringe of the precipitation over the Ohio Valley.

Friday, as the heavier precipitation swings east and the subfreezing air oozes to the southeast, freezing rain may cause icy conditions to expand into southern Arkansas, northwest Mississippi, west Tennessee, and into a long narrow corridor over or near the Ohio River. Some areas north of the Ohio River will change over to snow as colder air builds in from the north. A little bit of snow or wintry mixed precip will reach western Pennsylvania and parts of western and central New York, with widespread rain farther east.

For Oklahoma and north and central Texas, precipitation will taper off and end during the day Friday, but cold air will remain firmly entrenched. This will allow the potential of more wintry precipitation Saturday in parts of Texas as the next storm system quickly develops behind Cleon.

(FORECASTS: Oklahoma City | Dallas | Little Rock | Memphis | Cincinnati)

As shown in the inset maps, the Thursday-Friday phase of Cleon will bring the potential for severe disruptions to travel and electric power.

One saving grace is that it has been warm lately in the south-central states; parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area reached the 80s Wednesday and Little Rock, Ark., was well into the 70s. As a result, the ground is warm, and roads that sit on the soil may take a long time to become cold enough for ice to accumulate. On the other hand, roads that are not on the ground – we're talking bridges and overpasses – will turn cold much more quickly, and could turn into skating rinks rather quickly on Thursday night with the lack of sunlight and the widespread rain falling in areas with air temperatures below freezing.

Tree branches and power lines will cool off much more quickly than the soil, and heavy ice accumulations could bring down limbs and power lines across a swath of Arkansas and adjacent states. This could potentially lead to widespread power outages that could take days to repair. You should prepare for the potential for prolonged power outages if you are in the darker shaded areas on our power outage map.

(MORE: Ice Storm Impacts | What is Freezing Rain?)

After Cleon, another storm system may bring yet more snow, sleet and freezing rain from parts of the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley, Middle Atlantic and Northeast this weekend into Monday. This could become The Weather Channel's next named storm, which would be Dion. For a preview, check out the forecast map links below

Rare Weather Event Fills Grand Canyon With Fog

Fog is a pretty common occurrence in most of the country, especially in places like San Francisco and Seattle. But this past Friday, the Grand Canyon awoke wrapped in a cloak of clouds.

The rare fog had veteran park rangers soaking in the majesty of the moment.

“Rangers wait for years to see it. Word spread like wildfire and most ran to the rim to photograph it. What a fantastic treat for all,” said ranger Erin Whittaker in a post on the Grand Canyon National Facebook page.

A rare total inversion was seen today by visitors to Grand Canyon National Park. This view is from Mather Point on the South Rim. Cloud inversions are formed through the interaction of warm and cold air masses. (NPS/Erin Whittaker)

• LARGER IMAGE

The photos are stunning, breathtaking and awe-inspiring. But what caused this exceptional moment of wonderment?

Although all fog looks the same, there are actually six types: radiation, advection, upslope, ice, freezing and evaporation.

(VIDEO: The Many Faces of Fog)

The fog at the Grand Canyon appears to be radiation fog, which is caused by the ground releasing much of its heat back toward space. As this release occurs, the temperature at the surface cools dramatically, creating what meteorologists call a “temperature inversion,” meaning the air higher up is warmer than what’s at the ground.

As the air continues to cool, the ambient temperature creeps closer to the dew point, a measure of moisture in the atmosphere. When the air temperature and dew point are at the same value, saturation occurs. Basically, the air is at 100 percent relative humidity.

(VIDEO: Science Behind Inversions)

At saturation, water vapor can condense, changing from a gas to a liquid. The little drops that develop start to form a cloud close to the ground and fog is born.

In addition to fog on Friday morning, another round formed Sunday. And this time the air temperature was well below freezing, causing freezing fog. The water droplets that form are “supercooled” — meaning they are still liquid, but below freezing. These supercooled droplets then instantaneously freeze to any object that’s at or below 32 degrees.

(MORE: Oklahoma City Fog Creates Flight Delays, Diversions, and Spectacular Photos)

Aside from the cool science behind the formation of the fog, these pictures remind us of the intrinsic beauty of nature.

Officials said six people were killed and more than 100 others were hurt when a series of tornadoes battered Illinois Sunday, including one that National Weather Service meteorologists said was a strong EF-4 twister.

The preliminary rating of the tornado that struck Washington, near Peoria, means estimated peak winds were between 170 and 190 MPH. As many as 30 tornadoes may have touched down across the state Sunday, officials said.

Two fatalities were reported in Massac County, two more in Washington County, east of St. Louis, and another in Washington, Ill., in Tazewell County, said Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson. A sixth fatality was confirmed but it was not immediately clear where it occurred.

The deaths in Washington County were of an 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old sister, who lived in a farm house near New Minden, Ill., said coroner Mark Styninger.

Two other fatalities in Michigan were also tied to the storms.

• State-by-State Look at Storm, Tornadoes in Midwest

At least 50 patients in the emergency room at St. Francis Medical Center near Washington, Ill., were reported to be tornado-related, eight of them were trauma cases, according to Amy Paul, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

A news release by the National Guard followed reports that people were trapped in buildings after Sunday's severe weather.

In Coal City, where National Weather Service meteorologists later confirmed an EF-2 twister touched down, residential and commercial buildings were damaged, with some residential buildings collapsed, according to Lieutenant Dorthwood.

Crews were still checking for injuries and anyone trapped in the area Sunday afternoon.

• PHOTOS Severe Weather: Nov. 17

At least four injuries were reported in the area, one of them critical, officials said at a press conference Sunday.

At least 10,000 pounds of propane leaked in the area and several fire departments were at the scene, according to Illinois State Police.

Fire authorities requested a disaster alarm, which brings in additional fire resources, after the damage reportedly affected three fire districts.

Collapsed buildings were also reported in Wilmington district.

Multiple barns and houses were damaged near LaGrange, Dralley and Scheer Roads in Frankfort, Ill., but no injuries were reported.

• Full Coverage: November Tornadoes

An entire roof, among many other objects, was lifted and destroyed in the 15100 block of South Page Street in Harvey. Residents were displaced and were being sent to local shelters, according to a release from the Harvey officials.

Weather service officials confirmed that a tornado touched down just before 11 a.m. near the central Illinois community of East Peoria. Weather officials said it was moving northeast about 60 mph; East Peoria is about 150 miles southwest of Chicago.

"This is a very dangerous situation," said Russell Schneider, director of the weather service's Storm Prediction Center. "Approximately 53 million in 10 states are at significant risk for thunderstorms and tornadoes."

Schneider noted that the storms are moving at 60 mph, which he said will not give people enough time to seek shelter if they're relying on watching the sky alone.

• Quinn Declares 7 Counties Disaster Areas

"My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by today’s severe storms," said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin. "I am receiving regular updates from Illinois emergency officials and local leaders including those from Washington, Illinois – one of the areas that was hardest hit today. While we don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, it is clear that coordinated local, state and federal resources will be needed to rebuild. I stand ready to work with my colleagues in that effort.”

In McHenry County, northwest of Chicago, funnel clouds were spotted late Sunday morning, dropping out of the clouds and then retreating again, said Bob Ellsworth, the assistant director of the county's emergency management agency. Ellsworth added that none had touched the ground or caused any damage.

Around the same time, the weather service issued a tornado warning for parts of Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties in Wisconsin. 

At the peak of the storm, Ameren Illinois reported about 140,000 customers were without electricity, most of them in the Peoria area.

• How to Help Tornado Victims

About 40 miles to the southeast, Illinois State University reported widespread power outages across the camps, according to a post on the university's campus.

"Residence halls and other buildings are running on emergency power and elevators and student safety component are operating," the post read.

Closer to Chicago, ComEd said more than 150,000 power customers were knocked offline. That number was reduced to about 89,000 customers by 4 p.m. Sunday.

The severe weather also interrupted the NFL football game at Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears were hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Fans and players were asked to clear the stands at around 12:30 p.m. The game was suspended for nearly two hours.

"We've seen all kinds of weather in Chicago," said General Manager of Soldier Field Tim LeFevour. "We always talk about Bears weather, Bear football weather... this might be a little extreme."

Nearly 300 flights were canceled at Chicago's two major airports, and residual delays of up to an hour and a half were reported at O'Hare International.

Metra officials also said inbound and outbound trains were delayed due to severe weather.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/Stormy-Weather-in-Store-for-Chicago-Area-232188631.html#ixzz2mY6MALfn

Mexican floods kill 80, thousands stranded

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) - September 19, 2013 (WPVI) -- The death toll from days of flooding in southern and central Mexico rose to 80 on Wednesday, and new reports of landslides in a village near the resort of Acapulco threatened to drive the number of casualties even higher.

Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said federal authorities had reached the village, known as La Pintada, by helicopter and had airlifted out 35 residents, four of whom were seriously injured in the slide, but they had not yet seen any bodies.

"It doesn't look good, based on the photos we have in our possession," Osorio Chong said, while noting that "up to this point, we do not have any (confirmed) as dead in the landslide." Earlier, speaking to local media, Osorio Chong said "this is a very powerful landslide, very big ... You can see that it hit a lot of houses."

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Mexico was hit by the one-two punch of twin storms over the weekend, and the storm that soaked Acapulco on Sunday, Manuel, re-formed into a tropical storm Wednesday, threatening to bring more flooding to the country's northern coast.

With a tropical disturbance over the Yucatan Peninsula headed toward the same Gulf coast hit by Hurricane Ingrid, the country could face another double hit, just it struggles to restore services and evacuate those stranded by last weekend's flooding.

Mexico's federal Civil Protection coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente, said 35,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and authorities raised the death toll across the country to 80.

But the death toll may rise further. Mayor Edilberto Tabares of the township of Atoyac told Milenio television that 18 bodies had been recovered and possibly many more remained buried in a remote mountain village that authorities have not yet been able to reach. Atoyac is a largely rural township about 42 miles (70 kilometers) west of Acapulco.

In Acapulco itself, gun-toting state police guarded the entrance to a partly flooded Costco store hours after people looted it on one of the city's main boulevards, carting off shopping carts full of food, clothing, and in some cases flat-screen TVs.

Hundreds of people waded through waist-high brown water in the store's parking lot on Wednesday, fishing out anything - cans of food or soda - that looters might have dropped. Others shouted for the now-shuttered store to be re-opened.

"If we can't work, we have to come and get something to eat," said 60-year-old fisherman Anastasio Barrera, as he stood with his wife outside the store. "The city government isn't doing anything for us, and neither is the state government."

With the twin roads from Acapulco to Mexico City closed down, at least 40,000 tourists saw a long holiday beach weekend degenerate into a desperate struggle to get weeping children, elderly parents and even a few damp, bedraggled dogs back home. Thousands of people, some sweating, profusely, waited in line Wednesday outside a shopping mall-convention center that was being used as a shelter and waiting area for flights out.

Two of Mexico's largest airlines were running about two flights an hour from Acapulco's still-flooded international airport, with priority for those with tickets, the elderly and families with young children.

Inside the shopping center, Omar Diaz, a 23-year-old window installer, waited with his wife, their 2-day-old baby and two other children on a foam mattress covered with a blanket. Their home was flooded and the few possessions they were able to save hung in plastic bags around their improvised bed.

His wife, Marisela Diaz, 24, gave birth to daughter Paula Jasmin shortly after Tropical Storm Manuel hit, but was asked to leave a local hospital "because there weren't enough beds," she said.

"We lost everything, our house, our bed, the fans, the refrigerator, the television," said Omar, but Marisela was just happy just to be safe with her newborn. "We're good here," she said.

Outside, those waiting in the enormous lines for an airplane ticket out weren't so lucky; they sweltered in the sun that had re-appeared after the storm.

Catalina Clave, 46, who works at the Mexico City stock exchange, sweated in the humid heat along with her husband and a group of friends who had been vacationing in Acapulco. Their excruciating wait had already stretched for two days.

"Forty-eight hours without electricity, no running water and now we can't get home," Clave said. "Now all I ask for is some shade and some information." So far, authorities said they had flown about 5,300 people out of Acapulco.

The government has promised to reopen the roads between Acapulco and Mexico City, but they were blocked by dozens of mudslides, rocks and collapsed tunnels, and the first provisional way out won't be ready for days, officials predict.

Some cash machines along Acapulco's coastal boulevard were low on bills, but most of the city's tourist zone appeared back to normal Wednesday, with roads clear, restaurants and hotels open and brightly lit and tourists strolling along the bay in an attempt to recover some of the leisure time lost to three days of incessant rains.

Gavin McLoughlin, 27, another teacher at Mexico City's Greengates School, said he went to Acapulco on a late-night bus Thursday with about 30 other teachers at the school, many of whom are in their 20s.

"We had no idea of the weather," the Englishman said. "We knew there was a hurricane on the other side but not this side."

City officials said about 23,000 homes, mostly on Acapulco's outskirts, were without electricity and water. Stores were nearly emptied by residents who rushed to stock up on basic goods. Landslides and flooding damaged an unknown number of homes.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Manuel was centered about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west-northwest of Mazatlan, with sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was projected to rake the coast with near-hurricane-force winds on Thursday.

Philippine Typhoon deaths climb into thousands

TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) - November 10, 2013 (WPVI) -- Corpses hung from trees, were scattered on sidewalks or buried in flattened buildings - some of the 10,000 people believed killed in one Philippine city alone by ferocious Typhoon Haiyan that washed away homes and buildings with powerful winds and giant waves.

RELATED: How you can help victim's of Typhoon Haiyan

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Pictures of Typhoon Haiyan's destruction

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As the scale of devastation became clear Sunday from one of the worst storms ever recorded, officials said emergency crews could find more bodies when they reach parts of the archipelago cut off by flooding and landslides. Desperate residents raided grocery stores and gas stations in search of food, fuel and water as the government began relief efforts and international aid operations got underway.

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STORY: Officials: Typhoon death toll could reach 10K

PHOTOS:Pictures of Typhoon Haiyan's destruction

STORY: Local Filipino community reacts to typhoon devastation

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Even in a nation regularly beset by earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical storms, Typhoon Haiyan appears to be the deadliest natural disaster on record.

Haiyan hit the eastern seaboard of the Philippines on Friday and quickly barreled across its central islands, packing winds of 235 kph (147 mph) that gusted to 275 kph (170 mph), and a storm surge of 6 meters (20 feet).

Its sustained winds weakened to 120 kph (74 mph) as the typhoon made landfall in northern Vietnam early Monday after crossing the South China Sea, according to the Hong Kong meteorological observatory. Authorities there evacuated hundreds of thousands of people.

Hardest hit in the Philippines was Leyte Island, where regional Police Chief Elmer Soria said the provincial governor had told him there were about 10,000 dead, primarily from drowning and collapsed buildings. Most were in Tacloban, the provincial capital of about 200,000 people that is the biggest city on the island.

Reports also trickled in indicating deaths elsewhere on the island.

On Samar Island, Leo Dacaynos of the provincial disaster office said 300 people were confirmed dead in one town and another 2,000 were missing, with some towns yet to be reached by rescuers. He pleaded for food and water, adding that power was out and there was no cellphone signal, making communication possible only by radio.

Reports from other affected islands indicated dozens, perhaps hundreds more deaths.

With communications still knocked out in many areas, it was unclear how authorities were arriving at their estimates of the number of people killed, and it will be days before the full extent of the storm is known.

"On the way to the airport, we saw many bodies along the street," said Philippine-born Australian Mila Ward, 53, who was waiting at the Tacloban airport to catch a military flight back to Manila, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) to the northwest. "They were covered with just anything - tarpaulin, roofing sheets, cardboard." She said she passed "well over 100" bodies.

In one part of Tacloban, a ship had been pushed ashore and sat amid damaged homes.

Haiyan inflicted serious damage to at least six of the archipelago's more than 7,000 islands, with Leyte, Samar and the northern part of Cebu appearing to bear the brunt of the storm. About 4 million people were affected by the storm, the national disaster agency said.

Video from Eastern Samar province's Guiuan township - the first area where the typhoon made landfall - showed a trail of devastation. Many houses were flattened and roads were strewn with debris and uprooted trees. The ABS-CBN video showed several bodies on the street, covered with blankets.

"Even me, I have no house, I have no clothes. I don't know how I will restart my life, I am so confused," an unidentified woman said, crying. "I don't know what happened to us. We are appealing for help. Whoever has a good heart, I appeal to you - please help Guiuan."

The Philippine National Red Cross said its efforts were hampered by looters, including some who attacked trucks of food and other relief supplies it was shipping to Tacloban from the southern port of Davao.

Tacloban's two largest malls and grocery stores were looted, and police guarded a fuel depot. About 200 police officers were sent into Tacloban to restore law and order.

With other rampant looting reported, President Benigno Aquino III said he was considering declaring a state of emergency or martial law in Tacloban. A state of emergency usually includes curfews, price and food supply controls, military or police checkpoints and increased security patrols.

The massive casualties occurred even though the government had evacuated nearly 800,000 people ahead of the typhoon.

Aquino flew around Leyte by helicopter on Sunday and landed in Tacloban. He said the government's priority was to restore power and communications in isolated areas and deliver relief and medical assistance.

Challenged to respond to a disaster of such magnitude, the Philippine government also accepted help from abroad.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that he and his wife, Michelle, were "deeply saddened" by the deaths and damage from the typhoon. He said the U.S. was providing "significant humanitarian assistance" and was ready to assist in relief and recovery efforts.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed the Pacific Command to deploy ships and aircraft to support search-and-rescue operations and fly in emergency supplies.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "extremely concerned" by the widespread destruction and the steeply rising death toll, according to a statement released by his office.

Ban said the U.N. and its humanitarian partners "have quickly ramped up critical relief operations" even though many communities remain difficult to reach, the statement added.

Pope Francis led tens of thousands of people at the Vatican in prayer for the victims. The Philippines has the largest number of Catholics in Asia, and Filipinos are one of Rome's biggest immigrant communities.

The Philippines is annually buffeted by tropical storms and typhoons, which are called hurricanes and cyclones elsewhere. The nation is in the northwestern Pacific, right in the path of the world's No. 1 typhoon generator, according to meteorologists. The archipelago's exposed eastern seaboard often bears the brunt.

Even by the standards of the Philippines, however, Haiyan is a catastrophe of epic proportions and has shocked the impoverished and densely populated nation of 96 million people. Its winds were among the strongest ever recorded, and it appears to have killed more people than the previous deadliest Philippine storm, Thelma, in which about 5,100 people died in the central Philippines in 1991.

The country's deadliest disaster on record was the 1976 magnitude-7.9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami in the Moro Gulf in the southern Philippines, killing 5,791 people.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Aquino was "speechless" when he told him of the devastation in Tacloban.

"I told him all systems are down," Gazmin said. "There is no power, no water, nothing. People are desperate. They're looting."

Tacloban, in the east-central Philippines, is near the Red Beach on Leyte Island where U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore in 1944 during World War II and fulfilled his famous pledge: "I shall return."

It was the first city liberated from the Japanese by U.S. and Filipino forces and served as the Philippines' temporary capital for several months. It is also the hometown of former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos, whose nephew, Alfred Romualdez, is the city's mayor.

One Tacloban resident said he and others took refuge inside a Jeep, but the vehicle was picked up by a surging wall of water.

"The water was as high as a coconut tree," said 44-year-old Sandy Torotoro, a bicycle taxi driver who lives near the airport with his wife and 8-year-old daughter. "I got out of the Jeep and I was swept away by the rampaging water with logs, trees and our house, which was ripped off from its mooring.

"When we were being swept by the water, many people were floating and raising their hands and yelling for help. But what can we do? We also needed to be helped," Torotoro said.

In Torotoro's village, bodies were strewn along the muddy main road as now-homeless residents huddled with the few possessions they managed to save. The road was lined with toppled trees.

UNICEF estimated that 1.7 million children live in areas affected by the typhoon, according to the agency's representative in the Philippines, Tomoo Hozumi. UNICEF's supply division in Copenhagen was loading 60 metric tons of relief supplies for an emergency airlift expected to arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday.

"The devastation is ... I don't have the words for it," Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said. "It's really horrific. It's a great human tragedy."

In Vietnam, about 600,000 people living in the central region who had been evacuated returned to their homes Sunday after a weakened Haiyan changed directions and took aim at the country's north.

Four people in three central Vietnamese provinces died while trying to reinforce their homes for the storm, the national floods and storms control department said Sunday.

Associated Press writers Oliver Teves and Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Minh Tran in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

Violent storms sweep across Midwest, killing 8

WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) - November 18, 2013 (WPVI) -- As a powerful tornado bore down on their Illinois farmhouse, Curt Zehr's wife and adult son didn't have time to do anything but scramble into their basement.

Uninjured, the pair looked out moments later to find the house gone. Their home on the outskirts of Washington, Ill., was destroyed Sunday by one of the dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms that swept across the Midwest in a swift-moving line of violent weather that killed at least eight people and unleashed powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees.

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"They saw (the tornado) right there and got in the basement," said a stunned Zehr, pointing to the farm field near the rubble that had been his home.

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Washington Mayor Gary Manier estimated that 250 to 500 homes had been damaged or destroyed. It wasn't clear when residents would be allowed to return.

"Everybody's without power, but some people are without everything," Manier told reporters in the parking lot of a destroyed auto parts store and near a row of flattened homes.

"How people survived is beyond me," he said.

The unusually powerful late-season wave of thunderstorms brought damaging winds and tornadoes to 12 states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and western New York.

Illinois was the hardest hit, with at least six people killed and dozens more injured. Authorities said Monday that two other deaths occurred in Michigan.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn promised all the assistance the state could provide to victims of what he said were the deadliest November tornadoes in state history.

"We're all in this together," Quinn said.

The governor and others said the search for anybody trapped in the rubble continued, but officials doubted that the death toll would climb. Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Jonathon Monken said rescuers had just one field left to search in Washington before they can say with confidence that everyone has been accounted for.

The six people who died in Illinois included an 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old sister who were killed by a twister that hit their farmhouse near the rural community of New Minden. A third person died in Washington, while three others perished in Massac County in the far southern part of the state, authorities said.

One of the Massac County victims was identified as 63-year-old Scholitta Burrus of Brookport, Ill.

"They found her over there buried amid the destruction," McCracken County Deputy Coroner Ryan Johnston said.

Moments before the tornado struck his home in Washington, Jim Svymbersky went into his basement to retrieve his weather radio - a simple act that may have spared his life.

"Saved by a weather radio," he said Monday outside a supply store where he was picking up plywood to board up blown-out windows.

Washington, a town of 16,000 about 140 miles southwest of Chicago, appeared to have suffered the most severe damage. The tornado cut a path about an eighth of a mile wide from one side of town to the other, state trooper Dustin Pierce said.

Of the roughly 200 people who were injured, 120 of them were in Washington when the tornado struck, officials said.

Across farm fields a little more than a mile from where Zehr's home once stood, several blocks of homes were destroyed.

"The whole neighborhood's gone. The wall of my fireplace is all that is left of my house," said Michael Perdun, speaking by cellphone.

The Illinois National Guard assisted with search-and-recovery operations in Washington.

As the cleanup got underway, authorities kept everyone but residents and emergency workers out of the affected neighborhoods. With power off and lines down in many areas, natural gas lines leaking and trees and other debris blocking many streets, an overnight curfew kept all but emergency vehicles off pitch-black roads. The only lights visible across most of Washington on Sunday night were red and blue flashes from police and fire truck lights.

Pierce said there were reports of looting.

About 75 friends and neighbors helped Zehr to salvage his family's belongings. He said he'd been at church when the tornado hit but that his wife, Sue, and son were at home.

A friend, Keith Noe, said the Zehr family still felt fortunate.

"They both walked out of the basement and that's what counts," Noe said.

Across Washington, an auto-parts store with several people inside was reduced to a pile of bricks, metal and rebar; a battered car, its windshield impaled by a piece of lumber, was flung alongside it.

"The employees were climbing out of this," Pierce said, gesturing to the rubble behind him. None of them was seriously injured, he said.

State spokesman Brian Williamson said hospitals reported treating about 60 people in Washington.

About 90 minutes after the tornado hit Washington, the stormy weather darkened downtown Chicago. As the rain and high winds slammed into the area, officials at Soldier Field evacuated the stands and ordered the Bears and Baltimore Ravens off the field. Fans were allowed back to their seats shortly after 2 p.m., and the game resumed after about a two-hour delay.

Just how many tornadoes hit was unclear. Although about 80 reports of tornadoes had come in as of Sunday night, the National Weather Service's Bunting said the actual number will likely be 30 to 40 range. He said that's because the same tornado often gets reported multiple times.

Powerful storm systems blasts US West; 4 kille

LAS VEGAS (AP) - November 23, 2013 (WPVI) -- The Western U.S. has been drenched by a powerful storm system that blasted several states and has led to four deaths.

The fierce weather has prompted flooding and water rescues in California, stranded dozens of drivers in Nevada, caused hundreds of crashes among desert dwellers in Arizona and brought snow to northern New Mexico.

The system was expected to head east and reach the Atlantic coast by the middle of next week, but not before hitting the Southwest again with rain, snow and wind, forecasters said.

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In California, the storms were linked to three deaths. In Oakland, one person was found dead near downed power lines and another crashed his vehicle into a tree while apparently trying to avoid debris in the road, news reports and officials said. Also, a 52-year-old woman died in Yuba County, north of Sacramento, when a tree fell on the parked car in which she was sitting.

In Southern California, a homeless man had to be rescued from a tree by helicopter and four others were plucked from an island after becoming trapped in the swollen Santa Ana River in San Bernardino County.

In Nevada, snow in higher elevations in rural, eastern Lincoln County stranded 50 to 60 cars early Friday, dispatcher Shannon Miller said. No injuries were reported, but U.S. 93 was closed south of Ely. Sheriff's dispatch said early Saturday that the roadway had been reopened, but the office did not have any information on the stranded cars.

In Arizona, firefighters in Tucson on Friday recovered the body of a man who was swept away by high water in the Santa Cruz River. Meanwhile, authorities across the state responded to hundreds of vehicle crashes as the storm dropped rain on typically dry roads.

A flood watch was in effect until early Saturday in the Phoenix area, where several miles of the Loop 303 freeway in the western suburbs were closed due to flooding. The weather service said rain totals through Saturday morning could exceed 2 inches in the Phoenix area.

The wet conditions prompted the Arizona Interscholastic Association to push back high school football playoff games set for Friday and Saturday. Officials rescheduled the games to Monday "due to the weather conditions, field conditions and safety of the players and fans attending the games."

In New Mexico, snow and ice packed roads in the northern part of the state, but forecasters say the latest storm is far from over. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque said the brunt of the storm is expected to cross into New Mexico on Saturday, bringing widespread snow through the rest of the weekend, frigid temps and gusty winds.

In northern Utah, transportation officials warned truck drivers of potential trailer-toppling gusts. No accidents had been reported, but big rigs pulled off to the side of the freeways to wait out the winds Friday morning, Utah Highway Patrol officials told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Forecasters said parts of both California and Arizona can also expect more severe weather with winter storm warnings through midday Saturday in the mountains and the Antelope Valley foothills northeast of Los Angeles. However, there's only a small chance of rainstorms like those that prompted flooding in California on Thursday.

At least one business in thirsty southern Nevada was rejoicing over the storm system. Officials at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort north of Sin City measured 11 1/2 inches of snow at midday Friday, with a week to spare until opening day.