MILLBURY, Ohio, June 7 (UPI) -- Severe storms threatened parts of the central Plains Monday while Ohio residents cleaned up following tornadoes that killed seven people, officials said.
Storms were forecast from parts of Wyoming and Colorado to portions of Iowa, Missouri and Illinois and could affect cities including Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis, AccuWeather.com said Monday.
A hot surge of air out of the Southwest and muggy air from the Gulf of Mexico will collide with cooler, drier air farther north, creating potentially dangerous and life-threatening storms, forecasters said.
Authorities in Ohio said the seven deaths occurred Saturday when a tornado slammed into Wood County, about 30 miles from Toledo, CNN reported.
In Michigan, 11 people were injured in a storm that struck Monroe County, emergency services officials said. Damage to the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant's exterior was so severe that it prompted an automatic shutdown, county emergency management services spokesman Dan Smith said. The plant will remain closed until crews have assessed the damage, he said.
Up to 500 people staying at a water park resort were evacuated safely, Smith said.
In Illinois, a tornado weaved through the town of Streator, injuring at least 50 people and damaging 30 homes, city emergency personnel said.
A twister that ravaged northern Wood County was the strongest of five tornadoes the National Weather Service said hit the Toledo area late Saturday and early Sunday.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland toured the scenes of devastation in Lake Township and Millbury after declaring a state of emergency, the Toledo Blade reported Monday.
"It's a tragedy, obviously. The loss of life is the most important because everything else can be replaced," Strickland said. "It seems almost unbelievable that a force of nature in a matter of a few seconds could do the damage that was done."
AccuWeather.com forecasters said isolated thunderstorms could pop up Monday across southwestern Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and eastern New Mexico, with some becoming severe and producing strong wind gusts, large hail and a possible isolated tornado.
Forecasters said the potential for flooding downpours and severe storms could resurface Tuesday in the portions of Midwest that were hit by the weekend storms and tornadoes.
