Weekly Wrap-Up: Powerful Winds, Tornadoes Whip Central US; Kate Keeps Atlantic Tropical Season Alive

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

November 14,2015; 11:38PM,EST

 

 

After strengthening into a tropical storm on Monday, Kate became the fourth hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic season on Wednesday.
The storm remained well away from the United States, but it still brought strong winds and rough surf to parts of the southern U.S. and Bermuda. Kate later weakened to a tropical storm Wednesday night.
Kate was the first tropical system to develop in the Atlantic since Hurricane Joaquin roamed the waters from late September to early October. It could prove to be the final tropical system of the season, which ends Nov. 30.
During its time as a hurricane, Kate left its mark in history by becoming the latest hurricane on record to form so far northwest in the Atlantic basin.

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More snow fell across the West this week, which was good news for California Ski Resorts, particularly Boreal Mountain Resort in Truckee, which was able to open.
Snow blankets the mountains and hillsides around Sparks, Nev., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
Denver experienced its first significant snowstorm of the season on Wednesday. Up to 8 inches was measured near Golden, Colorado.
"A strong storm from the West moved nearly directly over the Rockies, dropping snow in Denver and over the area," AccuWeather Meteorologist Becky Elliot said.
Several accidents were reported along major Colorado highways and flight delays were reported at Denver International Airport.
A plane crashed in Akron, Ohio, around 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday amid poor weather conditions. There were no survivors of the crash, which had up to nine people on board, several local news outlets reported. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash.
There were a lot of low clouds and fog with some light rain around at the time, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jordan Root.
"Visibility would definitely have been very limited due to the low clouds," Root said, adding that there weren't any strong winds in the area.
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Severe weather ripped across the central U.S. on Wednesday, with at least seven tornadoes confirmed in Iowa. An EF-1 tornado was confirmed near Le Claire, and an EF-2 tornado was confirmed near the community of Iconium, severely damaging a number of homes, according to the National Weather Service in Des Moines.
Three semi trucks were blown over in the state as the result of powerful winds. Injuries were reported after a truck flipped near Knoxville, Iowa.

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Tropical Cyclone Megh followed in the footsteps of Tropical Cyclone Chapala in the Arabian Sea and made landfall in Yemen on Tuesday morning local time, just several days after Chapala brought damaging impacts to the country.
"Having two landfalling tropical cyclones in Yemen in a single season is unheard of in the modern era," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said.
Several AccuWeather meteorologists and staff writers contributed content to this article.

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