this is cnn breaking news. good morning. i am alison kosik. this is cnn's early start weekend. >> welcome to the coverage of the breaking news in the midwest where tornadoes rip through the area again. and this is what we know when the sun comes up expected to rise in two hours or so. this area has been devastated by tornados. there are reports as many as 23 tornados touching down on in five states. >> in oklahoma, it's dejavu for the oklahoma city area. five deaths being blamed on the storms including a mother and

her child. 71 other people were injured, but as morning breaks and the sun comes up, we may get new reports of injury and damage. the same storm that brought tornados brought 11 inches of rain to place like oklahoma. and residents are being told to stay inside because of the storm threats. >> missouri's governor has declared a state of emergency. the main airport there in st. louis is open again. it closed last night, so they could clear debris from the runways. a tornad touched down nearby and the storms brought 70 miles per hour winds and damaging hail. >> we begin our coverage out of oklahoma with george howl, and he is in one of the communities hit hard by the storm. >> george, you have been out there all night and what are you seeing in terms of damage?

>> reporter: south of el reno where we are right now, i can tell you we get the on again and off again heavy rain. most of it was guys mention is this. you see where the tornado came through. what are we looking at here? a bed, furniture. presumably all the things that a tornado took out of the house, and you have to watch your step when you are walking out here, but look at this. this is heavy, too. but that's an example of what the tornado took out of this house. i want to bring in chris merit. this is your parents' house, right? >> yes. >> reporter: you were telling me the story a minute ago. tell our viewers what happened. >> i was in the city. i was working. i called them, you know, my mom, to see where she was.

and she said they were watching the trackers and everything else, and i told her that there was circulation out by the el reno airport and she said she was going to look again, and shortly after that they sent me a text message telling me they had left and went to union city and they came back for a few minutes, and they saw some of the destruction, and i am not sure if it was like this or not, but that there was another one coming and they had to leave again. >> reporter: thank goodness they got a call from you, yeah? >> i don't know if it was me or the trackers. they made it. everybody is okay. that's the main thing. when you see this, what do you think about this. this is -- this is unbelievable to see. >> it's a sombering thing to think about life, and all your

memories tossed about. everything from your childhood on up. >> reporter: we were talking a minute ago, bottom line, nobody was in there. >> yeah, nobody was in there and everybody is okay and that's the main thing. >> reporter: thank you for allowing us on your part to see this. >> thank you. >> reporter: believe it or not, this house, they were the lucky ones, because down the street or rather just the next house down is gone, and the house after that is gone. these are big properties here in this particular area just off of highway 81. keep this in mind, on interstate 40 north of us, that's where we saw these big semis, knocked over like boxes. and our own chad meyers spotted this storm and saw it as it

crossed over interstate 40. we crossed over the debris in the field, and you have a number of different things. you have flooding in oklahoma city and you have debris and storm damage from these tornadoes, and there's a lot for us to figure out and assess as we get light, guys. you know, it's definitely a fluid situation out here. >> george, obviously, besides the obvious storm to contend with, you say now comes the worries about flooding. what are you hearing about -- >> reporter: alison, i am having trouble hearing you. please say it again. >> okay. we are having reports of flooding and that's the secondary focus now that the storm has left that destroyed the home behind you, and any word of water rescues? >> we have seen emergency officials going from call after call tonight. keep this in mind, in that area

in oklahoma city where you have that heavy rain, officials are dealing with the problem of the standing water, trying to get to these different calls. we have heard reports of standing water in downtown oklahoma city. we heard several reports that we need -- we are trying to confirm ourselves, but, you know, it certainly is a mess out here in many parts. these officials are doing their best to respond to the calls as quickly as possible but we still have a weather system parked over us and it has been parked over us for quite a long time not helping things out. >> george just south of el reno for us this, and thank you very much. our nick valencia joins us now. you are passing or have passed through moore where you reported from the last ten or 12 days now

after the tornado hit that area? >> reporter: yeah, good morning. we passed by moore at the suburb just outside of oklahoma city that suffered a round of devastation when the tornado ripped through there. the majority of the businesses was without power, including the hotel where the photo journalists was saying, and our crew assembled and got together here, and i was talking to people at the hotel, and they said a softball team was staying there and they were upset going through something they had never been through before. and the town of moore is still recovering what happened on may 20th. i did not see any major flooding. i know we are talking about that

part of the phase. moving forward now the issue will be flooding on the roads. the good sign, at least in moore, i did not see any flooding so far, but we did have to go through oklahoma city, and that's when we saw more severe weather. as i look out the window now we are driving west of oklahoma city towards el reno, and i see the light flashing, the lightning strikes flashing in the sky. we drove through a severe -- seemed like we were underneath it and visibility was very, very -- about 20 feet in front of our car, so we had white knuckle driving going through that. and the skies at least for now from our vantage point where we are west of the city now, in oklahoma city, it seems the rain had stopped for now. it picks up every now and then. no telling what happens next. but the sun, as you mention, vict victor, the sun is waiting to

come up. it's the magnitude of the damage that we are waiting for. it's not anywhere that we saw a few days ago coming into the city. >> sunrise expected in about 6:15, two hours from now, and nick we will check back in a little later. >> this was a huge storm. more potential dangerous storms. there's still a major threat. let's go to cnn severe weather center. what are the conditions right now like? >> alison you said it well here. it's pretty widespread as far as the area we are covering here over the last 12 hours. and you can see pretty active line of thunderstorms into the ohio valley. about 500 to 600 lightning strikes per hour.

and the gusts are not exceeding 60 miles per hour and we are not getting large hail from them, but flooding rains coming down in one area that has seen five to seven inches of rainfall in the last couple days, and moore is getting some of the heaviest rainfall in the last hour or so and working your way on east i-40 into arkansas, more rain is coming down and flood warnings are in place. and there were five reported tornados out in the oklahoma city area. we have three tracks showing you the tornados and what is fascinating you can see the el reno tornado cross over i-40, and major gridlock in the afternoon hours when the crews were going through, and then another tornado touched down directly on i-40 and then it approaches moore and then we have a tornado touching down north and east of moore near i-40. it shows you the amount of

densely populated real estate dealing with the weather pattern we have been stuck in a couple of hours now. this is 5:00 in the evening on friday evening. you notice very little moisture scattered in oklahoma. i show you what happened in the past few hours. we picked up a month's worth of rainfall around the city in a matter of hours and that's why the officials and police in oklahoma city say they have not seen this much water in some areas and this is going to be the primary concern because water continues to be the costliest cleanup, and it filters into everywhere and everybody's popular. notice the month of june is right up there, so the active season nowhere near yet. >> thank you. so much of the amazing video that we see of the storms comes from storm chasers. those are the people that drive towards the storm and not away.

they are not seeking shelter. they want to be right in on it, on the storm. brandon sullivan is one of those people, and this is what he and his team ran into in union city, oklahoma. >> oh, my goodness. oh, my goodness. oh, no. >> turn the car around! let's get ready! a large tornado. a large tornado right there. >> oh, man.

>> a lot of debris in the air. >> wow, this thing just keeps forming new hordases. it's coming right at us. we have 30 seconds! brett, go! quick! as fast as you can! it's turning right. go. brett, go now! hurry! 40 is not enough!

>> are you okay? >> yeah. >> get down! get down! oh, [ bleep ]. >> go! go! no, don't turn now.

go south! we're going to die! go, brett, go! just go. get around him, man! >> i can't. >> it's rfd. let's go! >> it is okay? >> yes, just drive south. you are fine. that's fine, dude. just go. >> i can't stay on the road. >> it's fine. >> we okay? >> yeah. >> [ bleep ]. >> you're fine. duck down. duck down! you are good.

>> that is the first time i have seen the first four minutes. >> i am sitting here and the hair is standing up on my arms and i have chills. you know he is really scared when he finally pulls his seat belt on and none of us realizing he doesn't have it on. >> unbelievable, the size of objects hitting this car. >> yeah, it breaks the windshield. yeah, this is the closest i have ever gotten to a tornado. >> these guys know what they are doing when they go into the storms and have been doing it for years, and you can see the fear on the driver's face, and sullivan just screaming, head south or we going to die. >> it's amazing they know where to go. >> yeah, we will continue our coverage throughout the morning. the storms in oklahoma, as many as 23 storms across a huge swath

of the united states. we have reporters that are looking at the damage as we move throughout the morning. >> amazing stuff. >> stay with us. seriously, this is really happening! [ cellphone rings ] hello? it's a giant helicopter ma'am. [ male announcer ] get it done [ chirp ] with the ultra-rugged kyocera torque, only from sprint direct connect. buy one get four free for your business. only from sprint direct connect. angie's liat angie's list, i autyou'll find reviews. on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. oh, angie? i have her on speed dial.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> horizontal! >> south of i-40, it's going to be right here in front of me, mike. it's coming down right now. an entire vortex coming down to the ground. >> we have breaking news this morning in the midwest. reports are coming in that as many as 23 tornadoes touched down across five states. in the oklahoma city area, five people including a mother and her child are dead. at least 71 are hurt. but the town of moore, where a tornado killed 24 people almost two weeks ago, that was largely spared. meantime oklahoma and missouri are under states of emergency. clear east through indiana, more

than 200,000 people have no power. and now another threat is moving in, heavy rain from the same storm system could trigger flash floods. and they are awaiting daylight to get a good look and scope of the damage. and the tornadoes touched down in el reno, oklahoma, and it's 30 miles west of oklahoma city. >> we got video of the storm as it was rubbing up. i want you to watch the funnel cloud on the left side of the screen there. you can see what looks like two vortexes coming together to make one huge funnel cloud. >> that's something that a number of people reported seeing during the storm, and a tornado with multiple. we will talk with somebody from the national weather service about the work they do to predict the tornados that have been hitting this area far too often this month.

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we're following the breaking news this morning with reports of almost two dozen tornados ripping through the midwest. we have photos to show you. >> you are about to look at damage at one of the high schools, gillespie high school, and you can see the bricks and rubble thrown about. that school was hit hard. one official says it appears to be hit by a tornado and the roof

was blown off, and so far no reports of deaths or injuries there. >> with reports of more than 20 twisters hitting the area, that's not the only thing they are dealing with. >> it's coming down right now. matt's brakes didn't sound right... ...so i brought my car to mike at meineke...

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let's get you up to speed with this morning's top story. as many as 23 tornados in a span of ten hours have touched down across five midwestern states. >> horizontal! >> it's going to be right here in front of me, mike. it's coming down right now. very, very big, the entire vortex coming down to the ground. >> in the oklahoma city area, five people including a mother and her child are dead and at least 71 others are hurt. those numbers we're told by the public information officer and they will unfortunately increase. and in the town of moore where a tornado killed 24 people last week, they were spared. and all the way east to indiana, more than 200,000 people are in the dark. they have no power.

and while the main airports in oklahoma city and st. louis, missouri, have re-opened, all morning departures out of oklahoma city are cancelled and now there is another threat that is looming, heavy rain from the same storm system could trigger flash floods. and today's forecast also includes large hail and the potential for tornadoes. and officials are warning people, stay inside. and they were waiting for daylight to assess the damage. for oklahoma to indiana, more potentially dangerous thunderstorms, flash floods and battering winds, still a major threat. >> let's go to the cnn weather center. it seems like -- i could be wrong, but is this tornado season, is it stronger or worse than previous ones? >> it's not up to par to what we typically see.

only 18 tornados touched down the united states and that was the quietest march in 35 years and then fast-forward to the month of april, 82 tornados touched down and the quietest april for 21 years, and last week we were well below average for tornado numbers and in the past five days just looking from the data from the storm prediction center, they have seen 31 tornados in the past five days. the storms have come in on the order of 20 to 25 tornado reports every single day last week. and the ingredients were in place around joplin. dry air was coming out from the rockies and there's interaction over the region and very few places on the planet have this sort of a setup, and only one place can produce this many tornados and that would be

bangladesh. very few sort of places see this weather pattern and oklahoma city seems to be in the heart of it and we have heavy rainfall over i-40. nothing severe, no winds over 60 miles per hour. the thunderstorms blossomed out of nowhere from 6:00 in the afternoon, and hardly any cloud cover, and then the storm is going in from just scattered fair weather clouds up to 60,000 feet in height in some of the thunderstorms. at this hour, we are not seeing any rotation as the heat builds, we know where the coolest part of the morning is, and when the heat builds, we will see more weather. generally speaking, the worst of the storm system is all but over and now we're just looking at floods being a major concern.

>> thank you. as you said, the storms spawning the tornadoses is bringing heavy rains, and that's what is causing widespread flooding around oklahoma city. >> we were chased by the tornados. the first tornado tracked from el reno into oklahoma city, and then there was another one and the further we drove away from the cell, another would develop. and sometimes we were 35 miles away from oklahoma city and still waiting for these cells to die off and move towards the north and move away. now as we are driving back to the north, i am seeing so much lightning. i mean, i have not seen sparking like this in severe weather for a long time. this is not tornadic sparking, but it's rain and we are seeing

winds around 40. as you mentioned, it's the rainfall. already 6 to 8 inches of rain in some areas. and this rain could keep tkpwaoeitkpwaogoing for two or three more hours. and oklahoma is very flat, and water builds up fast, and a low spot, and then the ten inches of rainfall turns into a ten foot flood. >> a lot of the video we see of the storms is from storm chasers. those are the people that get in harm's way instead of running the other direction. watch. >> oh, my goodness! oh, my goodness. oh, no. just continuous here. >> we talked to brendan what it was like when he got even closer

to the storm. >> we were just northwest of union city oklahoma, west of oklahoma city. you know, we could tell the tornado was pretty imminent at anytime. the tornado formed and it became very large very fast. we initially knew it was time to go south, so we began moving south. the tornado actually crosses maybe half a mile behind our car, and the inflow to the tornado was so slow it rip add barn apart and it began to carry debris across the road and it smashes into our car, and we had no choice but to slow down and the debris came flying towards us. my concern was -- i knew we were not in the tornadic circulation and we were in the in flow, and i was not concerned about being picked up and being carried off by the tornado, but my main

concerns were flying debris and possibly getting tipped over by the wind. you know, those were my main concerns. i told everybody in the vehicle to duck down, and try to close their eyes and avoid the flying glass and we had to wait it out for about 30 seconds. the tornado, like i said, it grew very large. it turned right and came right at us. i would say that moment of the tornado coming right at us was probably even more scary than the debris actually hitting my car. at that point in time when the debris was hitting my car, we were down to the tornadic circulation. i knew i was getting damage to my car, but that was better than being picked up or carried away by the tornado. >> we had the cameras on the hood and we were able to capture anything that happened. >> storm chasers aaron and cody

howard they captured the monster tornado yesterday towards union city, oklahoma. look at this. >> a large tornado. a very large tornado. >> that block of dark clouds is known as a wedge tornado because it's as wide as it was tall, and when it was shot authorities were calling this situation a nightmare. can you imagine big rigs and cars being tossed around like they did not weigh anything. and thousands of commuters stuck on the road. 2 of the 5 people killed were in union city, and that's in southwest oklahoma. i want to talk about the formation and the destruction of the tornadoes. with us now is mr. baybrook with the national weather service. what is the situation with the

storms now? >> well, the storms have moved a little bit further east, and they are not rotating as strongly as they were earlier in the evening. so the winds detached from where the storms were forming out in northern arkansas and into the mississippi river valley. >> can you give us an idea of how many tornados the national weather service believes that touched down yesterday? and is it atypical to have that number of tornados? >> well, the first part of the question, the preliminary count right now is over the entire area 17 tornados have been reported. that number will probably change. again, it's very preliminary and the national weather service, the local national weather service officers from oklahoma city and tulsa and little rock and the surrounding areas will

be out doing storm surveys to determine the exact number of tornados that did touch down. the second part of your question is, you know, is 17 an unusual number? we try not to focus on the number. i think what is unusual is the situation in the central and southern plains has been this way for about ten days, and to have the threat for tornados almost continuously and to have several, you know, violent tornados and tornado episodes in that extended period of time is pretty unusual. >> what has been so valuable over the last ten to 12 days, not -- well, let's put it at about three weeks or so not just in oklahoma but the storms that hit granbury, texas. was the forecast by the national weather service, that this

afternoon between this hour and this hour, this is the frame in which there could be strong weather and the potential for tornadoes. how do you determine that? >> well, it starts with the stor storm prediction center. we use the numerical weather models that everybody uses. they are looking for certain patterns and the probability of that and they saw this about four days prior to the event unfolding, and they were already keying in on central oklahoma and northeast oklahoma. as we got closer in time, they gained more and more confidence and issues a moderate risk out look two days prior to the event. as we got into the day before, and probably the morning on friday, the local weather service office in conjunction with the weather service data,

roughly 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. central time in oklahoma and 4:00. >> the forecast certainly allowed people to protect themselves and their families and property. >> thank you, and i appreciate your time. now the winds from the tornados you saw did an incredible amount of damage. we are going to see more of the damage as the sun comes up. but right now in oklahoma, flooding is the most immediate threat. the storm waters are overwhelming the sewer systems in that area, and this is how the mayor of el reno described the situation. >> we are really flooded around here. we got a lot of rain in a short period of time. el reno, that's where the tornado started to go east. yeah, it just hung over us for a while. people were trying to get out and seeing the damage and trying to get the response vehicles in

and out. >> in el reno, residents are being told to stay inside because of flood threats like these. look at this. high water. it's stopping suvs and jeeps in their tracks. and even at a cops convention center, it was flooded during a playoff hockey game last night. in other news this morning, toronto's mayor vows he will not step down and will re-run for election. and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels. it can multi-multitask... look at it, it's doing over a million different things right now. metamucil. 3 amazing benefits, 1 super fiber. ♪

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breaking news in the midwest this morning. two dozen reported tornados touched down overnight. the storm caused flooding and damage in missouri, and this home was hit by a tornado, and this is in st. charles, missouri. the roof ripped off and the living room filled with debris. >> and the telephone poles, like the one you see here, caught fire. and emergencies rushed to a

holiday inn in missouri after people were reported being injured. an amazing perspective from tornado chasers. >> this is what it was like for chasers at tbn, and they touched a tornado touch down in el reno, oklahoma. >> horizontal! >> it's going to be right in front of me, mike. it's coming down right now. an entire vortex coming down to the ground. mike, i have to back out of it. >> wow. >> wow.

>> just an ugly and furious and angry storm. >> and they are going after it. >> is that crazy? >> going in the direction of the storm. >> i hope they are trained professionals. >> you have to be a special kind of person to chase the storm. and thank you for the video. >> yeah, amazing to look at. >> let's go to a mayor accused of smoking a drug pipe with drug dealers. >> he is not stepping down because he says he has not done anything wrong. paula newton is in toronto with

more. >> reporter: the mayor has given his word he does not smoke crack cocaine, but if only his word were enough. he just can't shake it. that video, the one that allegedly shows toronto mayor, rob ford, smoking crack cocaine. the one he says doesn't exist and is no threat to his job. >> i am not stepping aside. >> anything else? >> you bet there is. for days the toronto star newspaper is claiming that drug dealers showed two reporters of the mayor smoking cocaine, and he says no way. >> i do not use crack cocaine nor am i an addict of crack cocaine. >> the mayor claims there is not a video but he knows who has it and where to find it. counselor doug ford is the

mayor's brother. >> they said the allegations are completely false. >> thursday, two more of the mayor's staffers quit over the controversy, and he lost five in one week. although the jokes do write themselves. >> hey, hey! don't judge him! maybe he is cleaning up the city. by smoking all the crack in it. you are next, prostitution rings! >> what could be fair? >> toronto, boring no longer thanks to rob ford. but this scandal could take a sinister turn. the police say they are monitoring the situation closely and ford admits he has known drug dealers, including one that has recently been murdered.

and former washington mayor barry did it, and he served time. this mayor is putting new meaning to the words, you can't fight city hall. originally the people trying to sell the video wanted $200,000. $200,000 was raised by gawker.com, and they say they can no longer find the people who were originally offering up that video, so it could be an interesting week to come in toronto. >> the marion barry comparison was waiting to come. >> yeah, it was. and a man so obsessed with a teenage girl. he set up a facebook page to contact her. >> she is dead and we are tracking this story next. i should definitely do laundry more often

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this story. a 20-year-old maine man apparent thely set up a fake facebook page to get the attention of a 15-year-old girl. >> she is now dead and he is facing charges. our national correspondent is working the story and joins us with details.

walk us through what allegedly happened here. >> the affidavit provides chilling details on how investigators he lured the 15-year-old girl and describes his motive for doing it. her mother reported her missing on may 15th, and detectives sooner learned he was communicating with her. he had been obsessed with cable. according to the affidavit, and i will read it, it says he communicated with nicole cable to meet him down the road and he waited in the woods wearing a ski mask and he had duct tape and put nicole in his father's pick up truck, and when he removed her from the trunk she was dead. he intended to kidnap her and hide her and he would later find her and be the hero. he now faces murder and kidnapping charges. he has not entered a plea. his attorney says the client

received threats and is asking for calm in the community located just north of bangor, maine. he joined her family searching for a week. >> what possesses somebody to do something like that to a 15-year-old girl. >> once again, this is just another reminder of how young teenagers have to be so very careful of who they are sending messages to on facebook and who they are receiving messages from on facebook as well. >> victor and alison? >> thank you. and a astroid whizzed by earth yesterday, and it was 1.7 miles wide, and it was equipped with its own moon. a rock that size hitting us would be a city killer. it's believed the astroid that

wiped out the dinosaurs was about six miles in diameter. this one will be back in 200 years. thank you for starting your morning with us. we're coming up on the top of the hour, and we, of course, are following the severe weather in the midwest. >> wow! >> that's what it sounded like for people around el reno, oklahoma. there are reports as many as 23 tornadoes touching down in five states. oklahoma, missouri, kansas, iowa and illinois. >> five people have been killed by the storms including a mother and her chil