Tornadoes kill at least seven in Iowa

An estimated EF-3 twister destroyed buildings and ripped down trees and powerlines southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. Officials reported seven storm-related deaths, including two children. The storm was the worst to slam the state since 2008 when a tornado destroyed nearly 300 homes and killed nine people in northern Iowa.

Isn’t it a little early in the year for this kind of weather? Alex Krull with the National Weather Service said it was somewhat unusual that this storm hit in the month of March. Violent supercells with tornadoes are more common in the Midwest in April and May.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report about deadly storms that swept the U.S. Heartland in December.