1 dead as unusual Midwest storm brings hurricane-force winds

By MARGERY A. BECK and MARGARET STAFFORD
Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person has died as a powerful storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm temperatures, bringing hurricane-force wind gusts and spawning reported tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. It’s a weather outbreak that experts described as extremely unusual for December. The Iowa State Patrol says a semitrailer was struck by high winds and rolled onto its side in eastern Iowa on Wednesday evening, killing the driver. There were more than 20 tornado reports Wednesday in the Plains states, scattered through eastern Nebraska and Iowa. More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Thursday morning in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas.