Photos: Severe storms strike Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska

Posted Apr 15, 2012

By ctansey

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tornadoes erupting across the Midwest and Plains left five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma and damaged houses, a hospital, a jail, an Air Force base and other buildings elsewhere during a weekend outburst of severe weather, authorities said.
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A tree branch impales a windshield of a car in Thurman, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 2012. Iowa emergency officials said a large part of the town in the western part of the state was destroyed Saturday night, possibly by a tornado, but no one was injured or killed. Fremont County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius said about 75 percent of the 250-person town was destroyed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Barbara Cline and her dog Daisy sit on the steps of her home in the Meadow Lake Beach neighborhood near 55th and Clifton, Sunday, April 15, 2012. The roof was blown off the home. More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)
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A search and rescue worker stands stop a pile of rubble in the Pinaire mobile home park, the day after a tornado caused massive destruction in the area, Sunday, April 15, 2012. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)
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Bill Stanley retrieves items from his tornado damaged home in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. Stanley said he was in the bed at left when the tornado struck. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A carpet store is in ruins following a tornado in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A carpet store is in ruins following a tornado in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A flag flies outside a tornado damaged home in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. More than 100 tornadoes had been reported across the region by daybreak, according to the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Phillip Castor cleans up insulation at his brother-in-law's home following a tornado in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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An emergency management vehicle patrols the street of a tornado damaged neighborhood in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Ottaway Amusement employee Chris Letterman walks around the Century Wheel in a parking lot near the corner of Kellogg and Greenwich in Wichita, Kansas, Sunday, April 15, 2012. The Ferris wheel and another ride toppled over on Saturday night during the tornado outbreak. "You're looking at 2 million dollar, squished," Letterman said. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher)
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The Century Wheel Ferris wheel and a kiddie roller coaster lay toppled after Saturday night's tornado outbreak in a parking lot where they were set up near Kellogg and Greenwich in Wichita, Kan., Sunday, April 15, 2012. Residents of several states scoured through the wreckage of battered homes and businesses after dozens of tornadoes blitzed the Midwest and Plains Saturday night. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Chris Letterman)
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The owner of Xom Market checks the damage of his store Sunday morning April 15, 2012, following a tornado that swept through the Oaklawn neighborhood in south Wichita overnight Saturday. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher)
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Gary Gladwin looks over his wrecked property where he stored a 1937 Chevy, in Thurman, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 2012. A large part of the town in the western part of the state was destroyed Saturday night, possibly by a tornado, but no one was injured or killed. Fremont County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius said about 75 percent of the 250-person town was destroyed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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A tornado moves on the ground north of Solomon, Kan., on Saturday evening, April 14, 2012, with I-70 seen in the foreground. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Sandra J. Milburn)
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Anthony Walton, 15, of Creston, Iowa, ties a chain to a tree limb on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of Creston, Iowa, continue cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of Creston, Iowa, continue cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Two men look for people who may be trapped underneath rubble at Pinaire Mobile Home Park after it was struck by a reported tornado, in Wichita, Kan., Saturday night, April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Chris Neal)
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A trampoline is wrapped around a tree after a reported tornado tore through south Wichita, Kan., Saturday night, April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Chris Neal)
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Jill Orton, executive director of the Loess Hills chapter of the Red Cross, walks through a wrecked playground as she surveys damage in Thurman, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 2012. A large part of the town in the western part of the state was destroyed Saturday night, possibly by a tornado, but no one was injured or killed. Fremont County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius said about 75 percent of the 250-person town was destroyed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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A powerful storm raked across Creston, Iowa, over the night on Saturday, April 14, 2012, leaving a wake of overturned cars, downed power lines, property damage to homes, the hospital and Southwestern Community College. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES; MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of a south Wichita neighborhood clean up fallen trees after a tornado caused massive destruction in the Wichita, Kan.-area on Saturday night, April 14, 2012. Tornadoes were spotted across the Midwest and Plains on Saturday as an outbreak of unusually strong weather seized the region, and forecasters sternly warned that "life-threatening" weather could intensify overnight. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying) MAGS OUT; TV OUT
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A man listens for the sound of trapped people in the Pinaire Mobile Home Park in Wichita, Kan., after a tornado cause massive destruction in the area on Saturday night, April 14, 2012. Tornadoes were spotted across the Midwest and Plains on Saturday as an outbreak of unusually strong weather seized the region, and forecasters sternly warned that "life-threatening" weather could intensify overnight. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying) MAGS OUT; TV OUT
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Bill Stanley makes his way through the rubble of his home after retrieving a blanket and some clothes for his granddaughter Aubrey Stanley, in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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A powerful storm raked across Creston, Iowa, over the night on Saturday, April 14, 2012, leaving a wake of overturned cars, downed power lines, property damage to homes, the hospital and Southwestern Community College. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave, The Register)
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A fire burns in the Pinaire mobile home park in Wichita, Kansas after a tornado caused massive destruction in the area on Saturday night April 14, 2012. Tornadoes were spotted across the Midwest and Plains on Saturday as an outbreak of unusually strong weather seized the region, and forecasters sternly warned that "life-threatening" weather could intensify overnight. (AP Photo/Travis Heying)
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Sue Lord is dwarfed by the debris from her home, which is piled up on the neighbor's home, following a tornado in Woodward, Okla., Sunday, April 15, 2012. Lord was in the home when the tornado struck, but was not injured. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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Lightning flashes over Creston, Iowa, early Sunday, April 15, 2012. A powerful storm raked across Creston Saturday night, leaving a wake of overturned cars, downed power lines, property damage to homes, the hospital and Southwestern Community College. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of Creston, Iowa, continued cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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A mangled canoe sits in a ditch across the street from the dry dock storage from where it blew from during a powerful storm in Creston, Iowa. Residents of Creston continued cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of the Pinaire Mobile Home Park evacuate the area after it was struck by a reported tornado, in Wichita, Kan., Saturday night, April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Chris Neal)
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Residents of Creston, Iowa, continue cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
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Residents of Creston, Iowa, continue cleaning up on Sunday, April 15, 2012, following a strong storm that passed through on Saturday evening. The storm knocked down power lines, overturned vehicles, and caused extensive property damage, including the town's hospital. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Bryon Houlgrave) NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT