Slideshow

Tornadoes struck Massachusetts on Wednesday, bringing scenes of devastation more familiar in the South and Midwest to a part of the country where such violent weather isn't a way of life.

A violent storm system powering through a wide swath of the Midwest and South on Wednesday spawned tornadoes and powerful winds that turned homes into splintered wreckage and cars into crumpled shells.

A violent storm system powering through a wide swath of the Midwest and South on Wednesday spawned tornadoes and powerful winds that turned homes into splintered wreckage and cars into crumpled shells.

A massive tornado that tore a six-mile path across southwestern Missouri killed at least 89 people as it slammed into the city of Joplin, ripping into a hospital and leaving a forest of splintered tree trunks behind where entire neighborhoods once stood.

As water from the swollen Mississippi River poured over a century-old levee Thursday, officials downstream with the Port of New Orleans said the Coast Guard could close the river to ships as early as Monday, halting traffic on one of the world's busiest commercial waterways.

As water from the swollen Mississippi River poured over a century-old levee Thursday, officials downstream with the Port of New Orleans said the Coast Guard could close the river to ships as early as Monday, halting traffic on one of the world's busiest commercial waterways.

CoreLogic recently examined the exposure of single residential structures (homes) to storm surge within 10 predefined geographic areas in the U.S. See which cities made the list and what exposure levels they face if a Category 5 hurricane makes a direct hit.

Fierce storms in five Southern states Wednesday spawned tornadoes and winds that killed at least 194 people, wiped out homes and businesses, forced a nuclear power plant to use backup generators, and prompted the evacuation of a National Weather Service office.