OMAHA, Neb. — Strong storms before dawn Saturday in eastern Nebraska killed one person and seriously injured another in a state park and displaced hundreds of inmates after two prison housing units were damaged, officials said, even as other Midwest states also braced for bad weather.
The Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department was called to Two Rivers state park just before 7 a.m. Saturday, where first responders found a vehicle crushed by a large cottonwood tree. The tree had toppled as the storm brought gusts higher than 80 mph (129 kph) to the area, according to the National Weather Service. A woman in the vehicle was declared dead at the scene, while a man was trapped inside, the fire department said in a news release.
It took firefighters about 90 minutes to free the man because of the size and weight of the tree, the department said. Once free, the man was taken to an Omaha hospital with life-threatening injuries, Waterloo Fire Chief Travis Harlow said.
The state park — a popular camping spot — is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Omaha’s western border.
High winds caused widespread damage across eastern Nebraska, toppling trees, damaging roofs and pulling down electrical lines. About 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Omaha in Blair, the roof of a warehouse was torn open by high winds. Thousands of people were left without power in the immediate aftermath.
In the state capital of Lincoln, the storms damaged two housing units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, displacing 387 prisoners, the state Department of Correctional Services said in a statement.
“There are no reported injuries, and all staff and incarcerated individuals are safe and accounted for,” the agency said.
Strong storms also moved through parts of eastern Wisconsin on Saturday, bringing gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) to the state’s Door Peninsula, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service said more strong storms were possible across the nation’s midsection Saturday night into Sunday, stretching from western Colorado into Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, northern Missouri and into Illinois and Wisconsin.