ABC News(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Iowa, which usually averages about seven tornadoes in the month of July, saw 27 reported twisters rip through the state Thursday night, damaging buildings, overturning cars and rupturing gas lines.
Marshalltown, Iowa, suffered major damage, while the Vermeer Plant in Pella took a direct hit from an apparent tornado.
“Devastated to see the destruction from today’s severe storms & tornadoes,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds tweeted. “Praying for all Iowans impacted & for the emergency management crews responding tonight.”
The governor is set to tour damaged towns on Friday.
Since the severe weather outbreak began on Wednesday, there have also been two reported tornadoes in South Dakota and a reported tornado in Minnesota.
The National Weather Service will be conducting storm surveys on Friday to confirm these tornadoes and issue an intensity rating.
Friday marks the third day of the multiday severe weather outbreak.
More than 35 million Americans are at risk for severe weather, which is expected to be concentrated in the South and Midwest, including major cities such as Birmingham, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis; and Detroit.
Storms are expected to fire up in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys Friday afternoon and evening, and any slow-moving storms could produce flash flooding.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.