Jacob Dilks, right, looks over storm damage to his home in Hills, Iowa on Friday, March 31, 2023. Severe thunderstorms and tornados caused damage across much of the Eastern half of the state. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — — A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centers in Arkansas and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.
The collapse occurred at the Apollo Theatre during a heavy metal concert in the town located about 70 miles northwest of Chicago. The Little Rock tornado tore first through neighborhoods in the western part of the city and shredded a small shopping center that included a Kroger grocery store. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders activated 100 members of the Arkansas National Guard to help local authorities respond to the damage throughout the state. Padilla told The Associated Press that he and five bandmates sheltered inside the store for around 15 minutes with over a dozen others while the tornado passed. The power went out, and they used the flashlights on their phones to see.At Clinton National Airport, passengers and workers sheltered temporarily in bathrooms.
He said no other information was immediately available because officials were working to notify family members. The deaths were “very difficult to see,” he said. “I’m in a panic trying to get home, but we can’t get home,” she said. “Wynne is so demolished. ... There’s houses destroyed, trees down on streets.”The unrelenting tornadoes continued spawning and touching down in the area into the night.
One tornado veered just west of Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, which cancelled a watch party at an on-campus arena for the women's