More than 65 million people from the mountains of North Carolina to Cape Cod, including Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, were under wind advisories as forecasters warned gusts up to 50 mph are possible overnight, raising the potential for tree damage and dangerous road conditions.
There were reports of 60-70 mph gusts in Pennsylvania and New York, CNN Meteorologist Michael Guy said.
There were 350 reports of damaging winds in the region late Sunday through Monday night.
“The rain with this system was quite heavy and saturated the ground.” Guy said. “Downed trees are expected with the strong winds, leading to power outages and travel delays.”
7 killed in weekend tornadoes
The gusting winds in the Northeast come as parts of Iowa are cleaning up the damage left behind by deadly tornadoes over the weekend.
Several tornadoes touched down near Des Moines Saturday, killing seven people, including two children, and impacting dozens of homes.
In Madison County, six people were killed, Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said. The oldest victim was 72 years old and the youngest was aged 2.
The tornado was an EF-4, which means it had maximum sustained winds of 170 mph. It was on the ground for more than 90 minutes and its path stretched nearly 70 miles.
It was the first EF-4 tornado in Iowa since October 2013 and is the second-longest tornado path since 1980, behind only a 117-mile path on June 7, 1984, in southern Iowa.
“This is, I think, the worst anyone has seen in quite a long time,” Ayala said Sunday, noting about 52 homes within a span of more than 13 miles were damaged or destroyed in Madison County.
A person in a rural area near the Lucas County city of Chariton was also killed, an official said.
Overall, there were just under 40 reports of tornadoes over the weekend, according to CNN Meteorologist Dave Hennen. Most were reported in Iowa on Saturday, though there were others in Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana. In all, there were more than 200 reports of severe weather — including tornadoes, damaging winds and hail — in more than a dozen states, Hennen said.
The Chariton tornado is also estimated to have been an EF3 with winds of 138 mph and was on the ground for more than 16 miles, according to preliminary NWS surveys.
Other tornadoes that touched down include an EF2 with estimated winds of 122 mph near Leon, which was on the ground for 19 miles, the NWS said.
An EF1 tornado with 110 mph winds occurred in Vinton, an EF1 with 100 mph winds struck in West Lake Park and an EF-0 tornado also impacted West Lake Park with 65 mph winds, according to the NWS.
