OMAHA, Neb. / MILWAUKEE (AP) — A powerful weekend storm system swept across multiple Midwest states, leaving one person dead, another critically injured, and hundreds of prison inmates displaced amid flooding and widespread damage.
In eastern Nebraska, winds topping 80 mph before dawn Saturday toppled a massive cottonwood tree onto a vehicle at Two Rivers State Park, killing a woman and trapping a man inside. It took Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department crews about 90 minutes to free him due to the tree’s size and weight. He was taken to an Omaha hospital with life-threatening injuries, officials said. The storms also tore open the roof of a warehouse in Blair, downed trees and power lines, and damaged two housing units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, forcing the relocation of 387 inmates.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, torrential rains dumped up to 14 inches on the Milwaukee area by Sunday, flooding roads, cutting power to nearly 18,000 customers, and prompting hundreds of emergency calls…