Tornado confirmed in Sussex County, Delaware; 1 dead in house collapse

Delaware state police say there is "widespread damage" in the western part of the county.

ByABCNews
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Tornado confirmed in Sussex County, Delaware; 1 dead in house collapse
Tornado confirmed in Sussex County, Delaware; 1 dead in house collapse

SUSSEX CO., Delaware -- One person was killed in Sussex County, Delaware after a line of powerful storms tore through the region on Saturday night.

Those storms also spawned a confirmed tornado in Sussex County, the National Weather Service said.

Delaware state police tell ABC News the person was killed after a house collapse.

State police spokesperson Leonard DeMalto said there is "widespread residential damage" across the western part of the county. Downed trees and wires were reported in the area.

READ: Tornado, severe storms damage areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware

A confirmed tornado was located near Bridgeville shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, moving east at 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado was part of a violent storm system that left nearly two dozen dead in the South and Midwest.

Witnesses say they could see the tornado forming in the air as it tore through Delaware.

"I seen dirt flying up in the air and literally we were so close to it I didn't realize it. I said 'Let me pull over,' I look over at where it had hit. Debris, trees fallen into the house," said Ineishia Corbett, a resident in Sussex County.

She was driving her car when she first spotted the dark, grey clouds.

""I saw where the tornado threw these cars from the highway to this property, that could have been me and my daughter," she says.

Image taken in Ellendale, Delaware on Saturday, April 1

Experts say there is a wintry part to the storm, with blizzard warnings issued for South Dakota and Minnesota, where more than half a foot of snow and 45 mph wind gusts were possible Saturday. A winter storm warning stretched from Nebraska to Minneapolis and into Wisconsin and Michigan on Saturday, where more than a foot of snow was possible.

A severe thunderstorm watch was also issued for the Southeast, including Savannah, Georgia, until 8 p.m. A line of severe storms has been pushing through with damaging winds.

Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, more than 250,000 customers in Pennsylvania and more than 200,000 customers in Ohio were without power amid the severe weather.

ABC News' Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.