Midwest Storms Turn Deadly
Strong Storm Kills 2 In Missouri Mobile Home; Dozens Injured In Oklahoma

Storms with high winds struck northeastern Missouri early Thursday, killing two people in a mobile home, authorities said.

A storm hit rural Monroe County, 55 miles north of Columbia. National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Truett said there were reports of a possible tornado, but they had not yet been confirmed.

Wind pummeled the two victims' trailer shortly after midnight. They were inside when the storm struck, but their bodies were discovered about 400 feet from where the mobile home was found, troopers said.

High winds in the area downed trees, power lines and utility poles. Authorities say some of the falling trees left minor damage to homes in several counties.

"We had damage scattered around central and eastern Missouri and into southwestern Illinois," Truett said.

In the St. Louis area, nearly 10,000 customers of AmerenUE were without power Thursday morning from wind, lightning strikes and downed trees. The southern Illinois town Murphysboro had to shut down schools because classrooms lacked power.

Truett said that in the Midwest, high winds are mixing with warm, spring-like weather on the ground. "That's a real good setup for severe weather," he said.

CBS News affiliate KOLR in Springfield, Mo., reports a possible tornado also destroyed a home in Lawrence County.

"We didn't know anything until we come to the house and saw the total devastation that is here, you know right now," said Ed Fronaberger, who was having dinner at a restaurant when the storm hit.

Along with their personal belongings, KOLR reports the storm also took the lives of at least one of the Fronaberger family's dogs.

On Wednesday night, a powerful storm brought heavy rain, high winds, hail and a possible tornado to Oklahoma. The system injured at least 35 people and damaged about 25 mobile homes and travel trailers.

The storm moved through the Tulsa area just before 7:30 p.m. and caused two tents to collapse at an Oktoberfest gathering, injuring 30 people. Of those, CBS News affiliate KOTV in Tulsa reports five were treated by emergency personnel and released, and 25 sent to the hospital, one of them in critical condition.

Among the injured was KOTV reporter Steve Berg, who was hit by a pole in the back of the head. He was taken to the hospital with a concussion.

"There was some sort of tornado or microburst that picked up at least one of the tents and it collapsed on a large group of people," said Tulsa police Sgt. Michael Brown.

North of Tulsa, five people were injured and 25 mobile homes and travel trailers were damaged when the storm hit a mobile home park between Oologah and the Washington County line, the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services District reported.

Four of the injured were in a mobile home that was destroyed, and the fifth was a woman who was hit by debris, officials said. None of the injuries was believed to be life threatening, officials said.

Storm spotters in Kingfisher County, northwest of Oklahoma City, reported seeing a tornado touch down about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis said. No damage was reported, Loftis said. The weather service has not confirmed the tornado.

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