The Latest: Forecasters: Iowa hit by at least 5 tornadoes
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on the swarm of destructive tornadoes that swept through central Iowa (all times local):
12:05 p.m.
Forecasters say at least five tornadoes touched down as an unexpected swarm of destructive storms hit central Iowa.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Johnson said Friday that it will take days to determine the strength and total number of the twisters that hit three town on Thursday afternoon.
The storms injured at least 17 people , flattened buildings and forced the evacuation of a hospital.
Johnson says there were reports of more than two dozen tornadoes, but that they all likely stem from the same handful of twisters.