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Northeast Storms Wreak Havoc, Thousands in Dark

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On the heels of widespread tornado damage in the Midwest, powerful winds and heavy rains are blasting the Northeast.

This time the severe storms are crippling travel and disrupting electricity from Pennsylvania to New England.

Violent storms knocked out power to more than half a million people, at one point leaving more than 700,000 in the dark.

In Philadelphia, wind gusts of 70 miles per hour were recorded as the storm damaged homes and ripped trees from the ground.

"It was crazy winds they were coming straight down the street. It was scary for a couple of minutes," Philadelphia resident John Hadfield said.

New Jersey resident Ruth Dunham, said, "It was awful. The sky got really dark...all this rain and wind...just devastated our backyard, the neighbors'... the shingles were blowing off. The trees were falling down."

In the Midwest, residents are cleaning up from Monday's storms and bracing for more severe weather.

The National Weather Service confirmed that EF3, EF2 and EF1 tornadoes all touched down Monday in central Illinois.

"It's a miracle, frankly, when you see the devastation that there was no, there were no deaths and no really life-threatening injuries. Very blessed," Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said. "But when you look and see how devastating the storm was, we're very blessed in that regard."

Coal City, Illinois, saw the worst of Monday's storms, with an EF3 tornado wreaking havoc across the area.

"Just cars upside down, trees on houses," Coal City resident Robyn Marizza recalled.

"All the glass just exploded, like a big vacuum and then our ears popped and boom," another resident, Kenny Huston, said.

On Wednesday, a new set of storms expected to hit the Midwest. Forecasters warn that they could continue through the end of the week.

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT