'Destructive storms' clobber Midwest as more than 545K customers remain without power

A large swath of the Midwest to the Northeast was under a severe weather risk Monday as dangerous thunderstorms, which spun multiple reported tornadoes, moved through the region.

A "complex of destructive storms" had moved across eastern Iowa into northern Illinois on Monday night, according to the National Weather Service office in Chicago. Multiple tornadoes were reported along the line of storms as it moved through the Chicago metro, the agency said, adding that its staff had to briefly seek shelter from a tornado.

The weather service office in Chicago reported shortly before 10 p.m. ET that a tornado was confirmed by radar near Sugar Grove, a village about 46 miles west of Chicago. By late Monday, the agency said Cook County — the most populous county in Illinois and includes Chicago — was "tornado warning free" after dozens of circulations moved over Lake Michigan.

But the agency warned that damaging winds remained as the line of storms moved across northwest Indiana. "There was a lot of damage across our area," the weather service office in Chicago said on X .

The line of storms was expected to "reorganize and trend severe" as they moved east into Monday night, according to AccuWeather. A tornado warning was issued for parts of northern Indiana, with the weather service warning of dangerous flying debris and damage to mobile homes, roofs, windows, and vehicles.

"The storms in Milwaukee and Chicago will be closer to the evening commute, and much of Michigan and Indiana, including Detroit and Indianapolis, will have their highest risk of severe thunderstorms during the overnight hours," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.

As of early Tuesday, more than 545,000 customers were without power in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, according to poweroutage.us .

Meanwhile, scorching heat continued for a third week this month as more than 151 million people remained under heat alerts across the country on Monday, according to heat.gov . The weekslong heat wave has already set dozens of records and will challenge more records through the week, AccuWeather said.

The Weather Prediction Center said hot temperatures are expected for much of the eastern half of the U.S., with major to extreme heat risk possible.

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Tornado confirmed in Iowa with thousands of homes left in the dark

The National Weather Service confirmed that at least one tornado touched down in the Urbandale area — a city part of the Des Moines metro area — on Monday evening. A round of severe weather tore through the area and a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 11 p.m. local time.

The Des Moines Register , part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that more than 10,000 homes in the Des Moines metro area will stay in the dark Monday night.

MidAmerican Energy Company has the most significant damage in areas around Windsor Heights and Urbandale, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesperson for the company. More than 4,500 households in those cities are without power along with 4,500 in Des Moines.

3 suspected heat-related deaths at Utah parks

Earlier Monday, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office in southeast Utah confirmed that a man and his daughter died late last week after they ran out of water during a hike.

The sheriff's office said it was notified at 5:45 p.m. on July 12 of a deceased hiker in the Canyonlands National Park. About 15 minutes later, a second deceased hiker was reported in the same area.

The National Park Service reported that the pair of hikers were a father and daughter "who had become lost while hiking, according to the sheriff's office. The air temperature at the time of the incident was over 100 degrees, the National Park Service said.

"Dispatch informed NPS of emergency 911 texts from the hikers, reporting that they were lost and out of water," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

The father and daughter were identified as Albino Herrera Espinoza, 52, and Beatriz Herrera, 23, both from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

On Saturday, the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department in southwest Utah said first responders were dispatched to the Snow Canyon State Park, where preliminary information showed two individuals "suffering from a heat-related incident." The two individuals had signs of heat exhaustion and were transported to a hospital.

"While on the scene, a passerby contacted police and reported that a third individual was unconscious a short distance away," the department said in a news release. "The individual was identified as a 30-year-old female."

First responders determined that the woman was deceased, according to the department. Her death is being investigated by the department.

Dozens of heat-related deaths have been reported by state officials and local media this month. Although the death toll is expected to increase as the summer continues, experts previously told USA TODAY that the true death toll is likely higher.

Contributing: Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Ryan Magalhães, and Addison Lathers, Des Moines Register

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Destructive storms' clobber Midwest as more than 545K customers remain without power