LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Another wave of severe storms pummeled a wide swath of the United States and Canada, leading to flash floods and water rescues Wednesday in the Ozark Mountains, dropping a tornado that ravaged a community in upstate New York and stranding drivers in high water around Toronto. The relentless series of storms has caused deaths or damage from the Plains to New England this week.
Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power and air conditioning during days of sweltering heat. As much as 11 inches (nearly 28 centimeters) of rain fell overnight into Wednesday on parts of the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri, the National Weather Service said. Buses and ambulances evacuated 86 people from a nursing home in Yellville, Arkansas, where water rose to about 4 feet (1.
2 meters) during flash flooding, Marion County Sheriff Gregg Alexander said. A section of a bridge washed out and a historic courthouse flooded. Cities across upstate New York were cleaning up after a storm swept through Tuesday with high winds and spectacular lightning and flying debris that killed one person.
In the small city of Rome, New York, a confirmed tornado ripped off roofs, tipped over vehicles and turned several buildings into piles of rubble. Steeples crumbled and roofs were torn apart at First Presbyterian Church and the St. Mary’s Church, both built in the 1800s.
Copper sheets from the roof of First Presbyterian were found wrapped around utility poles a quarter mile away. “Thes.