Drone video shows Greenfield, Iowa nearly flattened following devastating tornadoes: Watch

Gabe Hauari, Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Kate Kealey, Phillip Sitter, Lee Rood and Addison Lathers, USA TODAY NETWORK

May 23, 2024 at 8:15 a.m.·2 min read

An outbreak of powerful tornadoes hit Iowa Tuesday, including a multi-vortex tornado in Greenfield that the National Weather Service has classified as "at least" an EF3 tornado.

The tornado killed four people and injured at least 35 others, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and officials believe the injury count is actually higher, but the numbers "reflect only those patients treated for their injuries at designated alternate care sites," according to a news release Wednesday night.

Drone footage captured by meteorologist and storm chaser Reed Timmer showed wind turbines near Greenfield being bent in half and destroyed near Greenfield on Tuesday.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds toured Greenfield, a town of about 2,000 people 60 miles southwest of the Des Moines metro area, Wednesday morning and said in a news conference that hundreds of law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel showed up almost immediately after the story, which struck the town around 3:39 p.m. local time.

Reynolds praised the town for coming together despite the tragedy to launch recovery efforts. “They are moving forward,” she said. “The cleanup that has already taken place is incredible.”

2024 hurricane season forecast: NOAA's 2024 Atlantic hurricane season outlook announced Thursday. How bad is the forecast?

Thursday weather forecast

Most of the central and eastern U.S. on Thursday was at risk of fierce weather conditions, from Texas and North Dakota to Georgia and up through New England, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. Winds at speeds of 75-85 mph, large hail and a few tornadoes were "probable" across a stretch of the Great Plains, including Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri through the afternoon and into the evening.

To the East, severe thunderstorms were forecast to move over Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

Through the rest of the week and into Memorial Day weekend, rounds of showers and thunderstorms will slam the central U.S. before making their way to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Monday. On Friday, a swath of the region, from Texas to the Ohio Valley, will be soaked by passing storms, brining up to 6 inches or rain to some local areas, AccuWeather said. Weekend plans may be thwarted, especially across the Plains and parts of the Midwest.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa tornadoes: Drone video shows devastation in Greenfield

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Thursday weather forecast

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