Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Damage to St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., is shown after it was hit by a tornado on Sunday, May 22.

Emergency personnel walk through a neighborhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22. A large tornado moved through much of the city, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses.

Lightning from a severe thunderstorm flashes in the distance beyond a crucifix in a cemetery near Easton, Kan., Saturday, May 21.

Volunteers work to place sandbags atop a temporary levee to fight back floodwaters as lightning from a thunderstorm is seen in the background on Tuesday, April 26, in Dutchtown, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri.

Emergency personnel confer in front of Lowe's Home Improvement after it was hit by a tornado in Sanford, N.C., Saturday, April 16. Homes and businesses were badly damaged Saturday by a severe storm system that whipped across North Carolina, bringing flash floods, hail and reports of tornadoes from the western hills to the streets of Raleigh. In the Lee County town of Sanford, a Lowe's store was smashed by the storm. "The Lowe's Home Improvement has been flattened," said Monica Elliott, who works at the nearby Brick City Grill. "It's totally destroyed."

A section of Big Bend Road in Richmond Heights, Mo., is abandoned on Monday, Feb. 28, during the usual morning rush hour after overnight storms knocked down a series of utility poles. According to the AP, the National Weather Service suspects at least two tornadoes touched down in eastern Missouri; one near Gray Summit in Franklin County, the other in south St. Louis County. No serious injuries were reported in Missouri, but more than 30,000 homes and businesses were still without power by midmorning Monday, according to the utility Ameren Corp.

The sidewalk along Big Bend Blvd. that anchors a utility pole came up under stress as overnight weather knocked several utility poles down along the stretch of road that runs from Wise Ave. to Clayton Rd. on Monday in Richmond Heights, Mo.