Death and Destruction in the Heartland After Tornodoes Rip through the Mid-West & South (Update: 31 Dead)

Tornadoes, twisters, hail and sever lighting and thunder storms ripped through the Mid-West and the South Friday leaving devastation and many dead it its wake. For those who witnessed the tornadoes and severe storms first hand, if you did not see the 80 to 90 tornadoes that touched down, you witnessed golf ball size hail that fell so fast that it accumulated like snow on the ground. To date, 14 people were killed in Indiana, 12 died in Kentucky and two people were killed in Ohio. The property damage spanned from the Midwest to the gulf coast. Out prayers go out to those affected by these terrible storms.

A swarm of tornadoes tore through the U.S. midsection on Friday, splintering homes, damaging a prison, overturning trucks and killing at least four people in the hard-hit state of Indiana, officials said.

At least one person died in the southern Indiana town of Henryville, where television images showed homes blown apart and vehicles including a school bus thrown into buildings. Three others died elsewhere in the state.

The town of Marysville, IN, population about 1,900, was “completely gone” and nearby Henryville also suffered extreme damage.

UPDATE I: 31 people confirmed dead after the severe weather … 31 victims, 15 were in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky, three in Ohio and one in Alabama.

The tornado outbreak, unusual for this time of year, killed at least 31 people. Saturday began with large swaths of the South still battered by heavy rain and under tornado watches — and a real fear of the death toll rising.

Of the 31 victims, 15 were in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky, three in Ohio and one in Alabama.

Piles of debris littered land where well-built homes once stood. Tall trees bowed to the winds and lay horizontal with the land. Churches turned into shelters and thousands of people began a weekend unnerved bynature’s fury.

Golf ball sized hail in Tennessee