Midwest storms blamed for Iowa death, power outages and flight delays while heat hits the East

By — Dave Collins, Associated Press Dave Collins, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/midwest-storms-blamed-for-iowa-death-power-outages-and-flight-delays-while-heat-hits-the-east Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Midwest storms blamed for Iowa death, power outages and flight delays while heat hits the East Nation Jun 11, 2026 6:01 PM EDT Severe storms that swept through the Midwest knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, damaged buildings and canceled flights, while officials warned of a new round of severe storms and possible tornadoes into Thursday night. The National Weather Service said it received more than a dozen reports of tornadoes Wednesday across northern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. Trees and utility wires were reported down across the region. In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that "broke apart and fell during strong storms," police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms. READ MORE: What is El Niño and how could it affect weather this year? Severe weather continued Thursday, with the National Weather Service issuing tornado watches or warnings for parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity. Storm damages animal shelter in Illinois Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group's executive director. "It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings," Corbin said. "It's a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals." READ MORE: A warmer world creates bigger and more damaging hailstones, study says The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said. Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield. Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South. Record high temperatures expected along East Coast Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity arrived Thursday and was expected to continue Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where da