Tornadoes tear through Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Tennessee

By Alaa Elassar, Alfonso Serrano, Adrienne Vogt, Matt Meyer and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

Updated 1107 GMT (1907 HKT) April 1, 2023
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1:55 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

1 dead, dozens injured after the roof of an Illinois theater collapses on concertgoers

From CNN's Rebekah Riess, Elizabeth Wolfe and Mike Saenz

Rescuers work the scene at the Apollo Theatre after a severe spring storm caused damage and injuries during a concert, late Friday in Belvidere, Illinois.
Rescuers work the scene at the Apollo Theatre after a severe spring storm caused damage and injuries during a concert, late Friday in Belvidere, Illinois. (Matt Marton/AP)

More than 200 people were packed inside the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, for an event when its roof collapsed Friday night, leaving one person dead and dozens injured, the city fire chief said.

The collapse occurred as a storm hit Belvidere's Boone County, with winds in the area reported to be in excess of 50 mph. It is not yet clear whether the storm caused the theater's roof to cave in.

First responders arrived within minutes of the collapse and began pulling people from the debris, Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said.

Twenty-eight people were taken to hospital by ambulance, he said, adding that five had severe injuries.

Rescue teams performed an initial search of the theater and were carrying out a second search, "looking into the stabilization of the building,” Schadle said.

The venue's event coordinator estimated that approximately 260 concertgoers, staff and performers were in the theater, the chief said. The night's headliner, metal band Morbid Angel, announced on Facebook that their show was canceled due to the weather.

One of the other bands set to play, Revocation, said in a Facebook post that "everyone in the bands and crew are safe." It added, "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this disaster."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a tweet that his office is “closely monitoring” the situation.

3:25 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

New tornado watch issued for parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio

From CNN meteorologist Mike Saenz

A tornado watch is in effect for southeastern Indiana, northern Kentucky and western Ohio until 5 a.m. EDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

This includes Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Areas impacted by the brewing storms could see a handful of tornadoes, wind gusts of up to 70 mph, and egg-sized hail.

3:25 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses are without power across the central US

From CNN's Paradise Afshar

A tree lays on its side in an apartment complex in Little Rock, Arkansas.
A tree lays on its side in an apartment complex in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP)

Nearly 300,000 energy customers are in the dark late Friday night in states impacted by storms sweeping through large swaths of the central US, according to tracker PowerOutage.us.

Illinois has the most outages reported with more than 100,000 customers without power, followed by nearly 69,000 outages in Arkansas, the tracker shows.

Here's a run down so far:

  • Illinois: 105,334 customers without power
  • Arkansas: 68,845 
  • Indiana: 33,205
  • Tennessee: 25,204
  • Iowa: 25,048
  • Wisconsin: 13,627
  • Missouri: 16,580
  • Michigan: 10,863
10:53 p.m. ET, March 31, 2023

5 treated in hospital after tornado touches down in Covington, Tennessee

From CNN’s Paradise Afshar

Five people are being treated in a Covington, Tennessee, hospital after a tornado touched down in the city, a hospital official said.

The Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton was not damaged by the storm and its staff are still able to receive and treat patients, Kimberly Alexander, director of media relations for Baptist Memorial Health Care, said.

The tornado has rendered the city "impassable," the Covington Police Department said on Facebook Friday night, sharing photos of roads blocked by downed power poles and large trees toppled in front of homes.

Police asked residents to stay off the roads due to hazards and so emergency crews can pass through to critical areas.

“Please stay home,” Covington Mayor Jan Hensley said in a social media post. “Do not drive around looking. Power lines are down. We are trying to get cleaned up.”
3:24 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

More than 40 preliminary tornado reports made in six states

A team from Summit Energy say a prayer together before investigating a burst gas line in Cammack Village after a tornado swept through the area Friday, March 31,  in Little Rock, Arkansas.
A team from Summit Energy say a prayer together before investigating a burst gas line in Cammack Village after a tornado swept through the area Friday, March 31, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP)

The number of preliminary tornado reports made in the US Friday has risen to 43, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Here's where they have been reported:

  • Illinois: 16
  • Arkansas: 12
  • Iowa: 8
  • Wisconsin: 3
  • Tennessee: 2
  • Mississippi: 2

11:02 p.m. ET, March 31, 2023

Arkansas death toll rises to 3

From CNN's Sara Smart

At least two people have died in hard-hit Wynne, Arkansas, as a result of tornadoes that have torn through the area, St. Francis County Coroner Miles Kimble confirmed to CNN.

That's in addition to an earlier report of one person dead in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Kimble is assisting the coroner's office in Wynne, which is located in Cross County.

CNN has reached out to the Cross County coroner’s office.

Footage from Wynne shows significant damage, with roofs ripped off of homes and a local school and trees uprooted and tossed across roadways. The town was "cut in half by damage from east to west," Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN.

3:24 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

30 tornadoes preliminarily reported in 5 states

From CNN's Gene Norman

There have been 30 preliminary reports of tornadoes across Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee and Mississippi as of Friday night, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Here's where they have been reported:

  • Arkansas: 12
  • Illinois: 7
  • Iowa: 8
  • Tennessee: 2
  • Mississippi: 1
11:21 p.m. ET, March 31, 2023

1 person dead and dozens hospitalized in North Little Rock area

From CNN's Sara Smart

Firefighters carry a woman out of her condo after her complex was damaged by a tornado, Friday, March 31, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Firefighters carry a woman out of her condo after her complex was damaged by a tornado, Friday, March 31, in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Stephen Swofford/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP)

At least one person is dead in North Little Rock, Arkansas, after a tornado hit the area on Friday, Madeline Roberts, a Pulaski County spokesperson, confirmed to CNN.

There are at least 50 hospitalizations due to the tornado in Pulaski County as well, but they “expect more,” Roberts said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post gave an incorrect title for Madeline Roberts.

3:24 a.m. ET, April 1, 2023

Homes damaged and businesses "basically destroyed" in Sherman, Illinois, sheriff says

From CNN's Andy Rose

Severe storms have downed power lines and trees and caused significant damage to homes and businesses in the Springfield suburb of Sherman, Illinois, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell told CNN.

“We've got several businesses that have been basically destroyed,” Campbell said.

Among those businesses is a daycare with a collapsed roof, Campbell said. No one was in the building at the time of the storm. 

So far, the only confirmed storm-related injury was the result of a traffic accident, the sheriff said. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies are still surveying rural areas of the county late Friday to find out the extent of the damage, Campbell said.