At Least 13 Killed in New Round of Midwest Tornadoes

(NECN: Jennifer Eagan) - The most recent tornado touched down in Denning, Arkansas early this morning.  There are reports of extensive damage to homes and three people dead from that storm.  

Meantime, a tornado near Central Oklahoma shredded tractor trailer in its path as the twister whipped along Interstate 40 yesterday.  According to local reports, the driver suffered only minor injuries.  It was all captured on video from a helicopter.  Daring storm chasers got dangerously close to tornadoes on the ground.  A news crew in Piedmont, Oklahoma broadcast live video of a violent twister sweeping through the area.  The anchor said, "Piedmont, anyone in Piedmont, get out of the way right now.  It is crossing Northwest highway." 

A series of twisters sliced power lines and leveled homes yesterday.  Eight people were reported dead in Oklahoma.  One man in McClain County said he had just enough warning to escape with his dog Milo.  "I got the dog in the car and started the car and I looked up and the tornado was right there, I could see it right in front of me," he said.

The sheriff in the county said, "We've got between 50 and 60 homes that have been totally destroyed or heavily damaged."

Severe weather also hit Kansas and Arkansas yesterday.  This follows Sunday's deadly tornado in Southwest Missouri.  That twister hit the town of Joplin, killing more than 120 people.  It left an estimated $3 billion of damage in its wake, but also many stories of survival.  "The washing machine and dryer were laying on its side, on my leg, and that's pretty much the whole thing. 30 seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime," Joplin survivor Pierre Jason said.

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