Powerful rains hit East Coast

PHILADELPHIA – Severe weather that pounded the Midwest and spawned tornadoes shifted on Tuesday to the East Coast, where tornado warnings were issued in several states and rainstorms were strong enough to stop train service.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for much of southern New England, and strong thunderstorms in Connecticut caused widespread power outages. Storms moving into Philadelphia on Tuesday evening blackened the sky and temporarily halted commuter trains beginning at rush hour. Amtrak suspended its Northeast Corridor and Keystone services from Washington through Philadelphia and on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but restored service about two hours later.

The heat also was a problem. Several people were treated for heat-related issues at a high school graduation in southern New Jersey, where temperatures were in the high 80s.

Strong storms that swept across northern Illinois spawned at least four tornadoes, severely damaged homes and forced first responders to pull survivors from basements, officials said Tuesday.

At least five tornadoes also hit parts of Michigan late Monday into early Tuesday, while possible tornadoes went through northern Indiana and Iowa. The storms knocked out power to thousands of people, but by Tuesday morning the skies had cleared and the rain had moved east.

Particularly hard hit on Monday night was a private camping resort in Sublette, Illinois, where five people were hurt and one was hospitalized with serious injuries. The National Weather Service confirmed it was a tornado with winds between 111 mph and 135 mph.