Parts of the Northeast are gearing up for what could be very heavy snow Tuesday, after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through parts of the Southern Plains and the Midwest, killing at least one person in Oklahoma, and some Michigan residents faced a sixth consecutive day without power following last week’s ice storm. In California, the National Weather Service said winter storms will continue moving into the state through Wednesday. A look at the weather threats around the country: TORNADO CLEANUP A storm system produced at least four tornadoes as it moved across central and northeastern Illinois on Monday, including two that formed in suburbs west of Chicago, authorities said. Initial reports suggested damage there was limited to fallen trees or shingles torn from buildings, said Rafal Ogorek, a meteorologist in the Chicago office of the National Weather Service. At least one person was killed and three others injured after a tornado touched down Sunday night in far western Oklahoma near the town of Cheyenne, where 20 homes were damaged and four others destroyed, Roger Mills County Emergency Manager Levi Blackketter reported. Statewide, Oklahoma officials received reports of 55 people who suffered weather-related injuries from area hospitals. Officials in Norman, Oklahoma, confirmed 12 weather-related injuries after tornadoes and wind gusts as high as 90 mph (145 kph) were reported in the state Sunday night. The winds toppled trees and power lines, closed roads and damaged homes and businesses around Norman and Shawnee. Classes were canceled Monday at two damaged elementary schools, said Norman Police Chief Kevin Foster. Frances Tabler, of Norman, told KOCO-TV that she suffered a small cut on her head when a storm hit her home, tearing off much of its roof and sending debris flying. She said it was a miracle her children weren’t hurt, although her daughter was trapped for awhile in a bedroom. “It was just like a blizzard in the house with all the debris flying,” Tabler told KOCO. “I was screaming for my kids.” The line of quick-moving thunderstorms that produced a swath of damaging wind gusts likely qualified as a derecho, although that’s not an official designation, said Nolan Meister, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Meister said a wind gust of 114 mph (183 kph) was recorded in Texas, with gusts between 70 mph (113 kph) and 90 mph (145 kph) in central Oklahoma. More than 76,000 customers lost power in Oklahoma, but most had it restored by Monday morning, Oklahoma’s Office of Emergency Management reported. There were reports of nine tornadoes in Kansas, Oklahoma and northwestern Texas, weather officials said. One tornado near Liberal, Kansas, damaged more than a dozen homes and caused minor injuries to one person, KSNW-TV reported. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN WESTERN U.S. Blizzard warnings went into effect Monday in the Sierra Nevada range as more rounds of rain and snow moved into California and Nevada. An avalanche warning was issued for the backcountry around Lake Tahoe, where up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) of snow was expected over the next two days in the upper elevations and gale-force winds could create waves up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) high on the lake, the National Weather Service in Reno said Monday. State offices across northern Nevada and the Nevada Legislature in Carson City were shut down because of […]

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