Rain, Wind Lash Midwest; Record Lows Set in Rockies

Powerful thunderstorms rumbled over the nation’s midsection Sunday, whipping up 98-m.p.h. winds in Kansas and drenching Iowa with up to six inches of rain. A tornado destroyed a house in Wisconsin, and a cold front set seven record lows as it moved across the Rockies.

A band of intense thunderstorms extended from Upper Michigan into northeast Illinois, and storms also were reported over southern Missouri and Kansas across Oklahoma to southwest Texas. Thunderstorms were scattered across southern Illinois, southern Indiana and western Kentucky into the Tennessee Valley and the Atlantic Coast states, the National Weather Service said.

Girl Killed by Lightning

A New Jersey girl was killed when she was struck by lightning Sunday afternoon in Bridgeton while harvesting cucumbers and string beans. Kristine Loder, 17, was killed instantly, officials said.

The storms produced a tornado in Manitowoc County, Wis., that ripped the roof off a house, but caused no injuries. About 200 yards away, there was only slight damage to a house in which about 30 people were having a family reunion. Police said material from the destroyed house was found several miles away, and a funnel cloud passed over Francis Creek during a parade that attracted 4,000 to 5,000 spectators.

Small hailstones pelted Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

A tornado touched down in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan late Sunday afternoon. A spokeswoman for the Chippeaw County Sheriff’s Department said that the twister touched down at 4:50 p.m. in the city of Detour. She said she did not believe it hit any homes or caused any injuries.

In Kansas, 98-m.p.h. winds ripped through Salina, knocking out power to half the city’s nearly 42,000 residents, tearing part of the roof from a major shopping mall and causing substantial damage at the airport.

Although civil preparedness officials initially estimated damage at more than $1 million, only minor injuries were reported.

Lightning struck an ambulance operator in Osage City, Kan., as he prepared to take an auto accident victim to the hospital. He was listed in good condition at a hospital.

Flash Flooding in Iowa

The storms sparked flash flooding over portions of south-central Iowa, where as much as six inches of rain was reported at Fort Dodge. Minor flooding was expected downstream along the Des Moines River in the next few days, the weather service said.

Cooler air kept temperatures in the 50s and 60s for a second day in the northern Rockies and Plains. The cold front broke or tied seven records in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and South Dakota, including 42 at Casper, Wyo.; 48 at Denver; 41 at Havre, Mont., 40 at Pocatello, Ida., 44 at Rapid City, S.D.; 37 at Sheridan, Wyo., and 48 at Wheatridge, Colo.

In contrast, the mercury climbed into the 90s in the eastern third of the nation and hot temperatures were combining with high humidities to produce a heat index of near 100 degrees over much of the East and Deep South.

Alpena, Mich., set a record for the date with a reading of 93 degrees. The previous record was 91 degrees, set in 1963.