Plains Set for Soaking After Violent Storms

Parts of Iowa, Oklahoma and South Dakota braced for more wet weather as residents and disaster officials in the Plains assessed damage Saturday from hail, heavy rain and high winds that killed two people.

About a dozen tornadoes smashed South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas on Friday, flattening homes and derailing a train.

In Brookings, S.D., winds of up to 126 m.p.h. ripped roofs from apartment buildings, destroyed mobile homes and damaged cars and businesses. Hospital officials reported treating 12 people for minor injuries from the storm late Friday.

Residents at an apartment complex stood outside after the storm passed, staring at the debris. A dozen apartments on the top floor were destroyed.

Sandi Vojta, 23, said she and her roommate were watching television when neighbors yelled that a storm was tossing cars in the parking lot. They ran into a hallway, and, seconds later, their apartment was torn apart.

“All I could remember was glass shattering and just a ripping sound, a loud rip,” Vojta said.

A truck driver in South Dakota was killed Friday when winds caused a traffic accident. The weather office at Rapid City, S.D., predicted more rain for the western part of the state, with some snow in the Black Hills.

In central Kansas, a camper was killed Friday at Wilson Lake, near the town of Russell, and two people were injured when a tornado touched down, the National Weather Service reported. Funnel clouds also were seen over other parts of the state.

In Nebraska, at least five tornadoes struck, with one destroying two homes and another derailing a Union Pacific train near Hastings. No serious injuries were reported.

The weather service predicted more severe weather in Iowa. The persistent rains of the past six months have left the state saturated, and any new storms are capable of producing floods, officials said.

In Oklahoma, a storm with 70 m.p.h. winds moved through part of the state Saturday, damaging businesses and uprooting trees.

In southwestern Minnesota, floodwaters washed out roads Saturday after severe thunderstorms pummeled the area, ripping the roofs off barns and downing trees and power lines.