Extreme weather covers the country from coast to coast with multiple tornadoes and violent storms

May 29, 2019, 00:22 UTC / Update May 29, 2019, 01:26 UTC

By Doha Madani and Associated Press

Severe storms spread throughout the country Tuesday, including tornadoes in Kansas and Pennsylvania, while catastrophic floods endanger other states. This is just the latest outbreak of extreme weather in the United States for almost two weeks.

Tuesday's violent weather marks the 13th consecutive day of such violent storms, which comes one day after a series of devastating tornadoes hit western Ohio late Monday. This dangerous series included an average of 27.5 tornadoes each day.

According to the National Meteorological Service, storms capable of producing hail, wings and harmful tornadoes fell between the central plains and the central Atlantic. Police confirmed Tuesday night that a tornado had hit southwest of Lawrence, Kansas, in the east of the state.

The National Weather Service launched an emergency tornado around Kansas City and urged residents to stay away from home, advising them to look for the lowest level in the innermost room.

The agency also predicted that tornadoes could strike Tuesday night in the upper reaches of the Ohio Valley and the northeastern states. Extreme weather warnings were issued Tuesday in the state of Pennsylvania, including tornado warnings for Scranton, Dunmore, Wilkes-Barre and the Poconos.

Officials confirmed that an important and "extremely dangerous" tornado was approaching the Scranton area in the evening.

And tornado warnings were issued for Staten Island in New York as well as for Newark and Elizabeth in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

At least one person died and 12 others were injured late Monday night after a tornado that devastated the Dayton area in Ohio. The National Weather Service has confirmed a "large and dangerous" tornado near Trotwood, a suburb of Dayton, in Montgomery County shortly after 23 hours.

The meteorological service issued 36 tornado warnings Monday in the region.

A twister landed in Pendleton, about 35 miles from Indianapolis on Monday night. At least 75 homes were damaged on site and near Huntsville, said Madison County Emergency Management spokesman Todd Harmeson. No serious injuries have been reported.

Intense rainfall in Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma has strained the aging of dams and dikes, and a reservoir in Oklahoma draining a massive watershed has reached record levels. The US Army Corps of Engineers has opened a large dam to control the flow of the river, putting Fort Smith – Arkansas's second largest city – at the head of the unprecedented floods that are expected to last all week.

"The purpose of a dam is to capture these flood waters and not let it flow freely into the river," said Preston Chasteen, deputy chief of public affairs of the Tulsa District of the Army Corps. . "If these dams were not in place to control these releases, I think the circumstances would be much worse than they are now."