Deadly tornadoes strike again

A deadly spring continued in the American South and Midwest as more tornadoes cut swaths of destruction through Missouri and Minnesota. The death toll in Joplin, Mo. was near 100 and expected to rise. As much as 30 percent of the town was damaged. In Minneapolis, a tornado killed one resident as it caused heavy damage and led to school closures and a curfew. The death toll from 2011 tornadoes stands now at 455, the deadliest year for tornados since 1953. -- Lane Turner (24 photos total)

Residents begin digging through the rubble of their home after it was destroyed by a tornado that hit Joplin, Mo. May 22. The tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses. (Mike Gullett/AP)

A shelf cloud containing a thunderstorm approaches a tornado-ravaged neighborhood in Joplin, Mo. May 23. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

Chue Vang reacts after coming home to discover that her home was damaged after a tornado struck northern Minneapolis May 22. At least one person was killed and at least 29 were injured in the storm. (Jerry Holt/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Emergency workers wait for a medical team after finding a body in a tornado-ravaged car in Joplin, Mo. May 22. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

Rescue workers search for bodies and survivors inside St. John's hospital in Joplin, Mo. May 23. The hospital was damaged by a tornado that destroyed nearly 30 percent of the city on Sunday afternoon. (Adam Wisneski/Tulsa World/AP) #

Lynn Mosley carefully steps over downed power lines on May 23 in north Minneapolis. The tornado ripped a nearly five-mile path from suburban St. Louis Park, where it hit a condo complex and two businesses, through north Minneapolis, tearing roofs off houses, toppling huge trees and power lines and knocking over rail cars in the northern suburb of Fridley. (Jerry Holt/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Donald and Helen Capps sit in a temporary Red Cross shelter at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. May 23. The Capps lost their home after a destructive tornado moved through Joplin on Sunday evening. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) #

Emergency personnel walk through a neighborhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. May 22. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) #

Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. May 22. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) #

An emergency worker carries a girl to safety in Joplin, Mo. after a tornado struck the city May 22. (Roger Nomer/The Joplin Globe/AP) #

Residents of Joplin, Mo, walk west on 26th Street near Maiden Lane after a tornado hit the southwest Missouri city May 22. (Mike Gullett/AP) #

An emergency worker searches a Walmart store that was severely damaged by a tornado in Joplin, Mo. May 22. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

An emergency worker searches a Walmart store that was severely damaged by a tornado in Joplin, Mo. May 22. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

Dwayne Riley is helped down from the curb by his son Andrew Hubbard in north Minneapolis May 22. His son also helped him into the basement when the storm hit. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Star Tribune/AP) #

North Minneapolis residents pick their way through storm debris May 22. (Marlin Levison/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Homes lie in ruin after a tornado hit Minneapolis May 22. (David Brewster/The Star Tribune/AP) #

A piece of wood is lodged in the bumper of a car after at least one tornado struck parts of Minneapolis, causing extensive property damage, killing at least one person and injuring at least 18 others May 22. (Craig Lassig/AP) #

Mea Miller, 13, sits outside her Minneapolis home where she and her family rode out the tree damage from the storms May 22. (Marlin Levison/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Takeesha Davis, left calls to tell relatives her family was safe while daughter Cyncere Davis, 10, holds their dog Papa May 22 in Minneapolis. (Marlin Levison/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Rachel Hurst picks through her belongings strewn about from her garage that was blown from its foundation in Minneapollis May 22. (Marlin Levison/The Star Tribune/AP) #

Don Atteberry, 89, crawls over a rail at his home that was severely damaged by a tornado in Joplin, Mo. May 23. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

Candice Kell, 17, looks over her psychology textbook inside her grandmother's home in Joplin, Mo. May 23 after it was damaged by a tornado. (Adam Wisneski/Tulsa World/AP) #

Storm clouds dwarf a farm near Lamar, Mo. as the sun sets May 22. The storm earlier produced a large tornado that moved through much of Joplin, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP) #

Maggie Kelley and her husband, Trey Adams, hug their dog, Saint, after finding him amid the rubble of her home in Joplin, Mo. May 23. The two are Hurricane Katrina evacuees. (Adam Wisneski/Tulsa World/AP) #