Storms sweep through Central US, leave over 510,000 without power

A powerful storm system swept through the central US with high winds that kicked up dust storms, fueled wildfires and knocked down power lines, leaving more than 510,000 customers without power, with no mass casualties reported, according to major US news outlets.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported a “confirmed tornado” near Rochester in southeastern Minnesota, the state’s first on record in December. Several tornadoes reported in western and central Iowa were also a December first for those parts of the state.

Wednesday saw a record set, the highest number of hurricane force winds of 75 mph or higher recorded in a single day since 2004, according to the NWS, which confirmed that there had been at least 55 wind gusts of at least 75 mph across the country on Wednesday,