PLAINS STATES : Homes Destroyed in Violent Storms

Nearly 100 homes were damaged when Lee’s Summit, Mo., was struck by a microburst, a violent thunderstorm downdraft moving at 125 mph. Thirteen homes were destroyed. No serious injuries were reported. It was the worst damage reported from waves of thunderstorms laced with tornadoes that boiled up across the Plains from Texas into Nebraska and to the Great Lakes. Damage in Lee’s Summit was estimated at $10 million, Assistant Fire Chief John Spencer said. In Oklahoma, a tornado derailed empty railroad coal cars parked along a siding. The heavy rain in Nebraska forced its Air National Guard to cancel Memorial Day flights over 40 communities. And while Memorial Day is usually considered the unofficial opening of summer, the Black Hills of South Dakota had blowing snow, heavy enough to close 14 miles of scenic Needles Highway and make travel difficult on other roads.