Devastating Path Of Destruction
Tornado-ravaged cities from Missouri to Maryland picked up the pieces Monday after an unusually wide and potent swath of storms weaved their way through the eastern half of the nation, killing at least six people.
Weather officials documented more than 15 tornadoes spawned by the series of strong spring thunderstorms that drenched states from Tennessee in the south to New York in the north, and from Missouri in the west to Maryland in the east.
A tornado that hit the southern Maryland town of La Plata was an F5 -- the highest rating on the Fujita scale for measuring tornadoes -- according to a preliminary determination by the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists revised their evaluation of the twister after analyzing the damage left in its wake, said Susan Weaver of the weather service.
If the F5 ranking is made final, the La Plata storm will be the first tornado of that magnitude in Maryland, Weaver said.
CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports that the twister wound an indiscriminate 30-mile path of destruction in two counties south of the nation's capital. Scores were injured and three were killed, including a man who had the misfortune of stopping by his new home, which was under construction, to shut the windows. It collapsed on him.
"They're banged up and shocked, and they're frightened," Civista Medical Center chief executive Chris Stefanides said of the injured. "I don't think they've ever really seen anything like this before."
Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening issued a disaster declaration Monday for Charles and Calvert counties, allowing the National Guard to send troops to the area.
Jack Cahalan, a spokesman with the Maryland Emergency Management Administration, said Monday that 12 people were critically injured and 81 others had minor to serious injuries.
Another of those killed was 74-year-old Margaret Albey of Prince Frederick. Her husband, George, was critically injured, said Calvert County sheriff's Sgt. Rick Thomas.
"The house is gone," Thomas said of the Albeys' home. "It's moved probably 80 yards down and into a ravine. They were in the house and trapped in the rubble."
A curfew was set in La Plata to keep people off the streets, and all public schools in Charles County were closed, officials said. About 6,500 customers in the area were without power Monday.
Thunderstorms struck states throughout the Tennessee and Ohio valleys on Sunday before continuing east to Maryland. The northern edge of the system brought heavy snow to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
In Missouri, a tornado packing wind of up to 180 mph and roughly two football fields wide plowed through the small town of Marble Hill, hurling a 12-year-old boy 50 yards to his death. At least 16 people were injured and several homes were destroyed.
"It took several houses completely away. Blown to sticks — nothing left but the subfloor," Marble Hill Police Sgt. Dennis Willis said.
The boy, Billy Hoover, was on a sleepover with friends when the tornado touched down. Two of his friends in the house walked away, as did two other occupants, but the house was left in ruins, Bollinger County Sheriff Terry Wiseman said.
"That was my first tornado, and if I don't see another one, that'd be fine," said Bollinger County Sheriff coroner Charles Hutchings.
The tornado also tossed vehicles, razed buildings and twisted tractor-trailers before the storms raced eastward.
At least 30 people were injured in Providence and Irvington, Ky., where Billy Garrett, 52, died when he was thrown about 200 feet from his mobile home, said Breckinridge County Coroner Bob Rhodes.
Dozens were injured in southern Illinois and a 69-year-old woman was found dead outside her home in the town of Dongola. In nearby Cypress, two second-floor classrooms of the brick Cypress Grade School were missing a roof and walls.
The tiny town of Tobinsport sustained the heaviest storm damage in Indiana. A dozen people were injured and 10 of the 30 homes in the unincorporated community 60 miles east of Evansville were destroyed.
Another twister cut a 5-mile-long path through northeastern Ohio, destroying one home in Stark County and damaging about 75 others. Police said there were no deaths or serious injuries. High wind and hail the size of golf balls damaged rooftops and cars throughout the state.
In Tennessee, a tornado cut a 10-mile path through the Murfreesboro area, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, injuring 18 people and damaging 62 homes and buildings. Wind reached 140 mph.
Heavy rain and wind exceeding 55 mph blew through Pennsylvania, blowing the roofs off buildings and leaving thousands in the Pittsburgh area without power. Hail as big as golf balls in West Virginia was accompanied by up to 2 inches of rain that caused minor flooding.
Western New York state also had a tornado, which destroyed a rural home near Belfast, National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed on Monday.
"There's nothing left," said Allegany County sheriff's Lt. Karl Graves. "There's no house. There's no barn. There's no garage. Everything's gone."