Tornados 2017: Twisters Rip Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee And More Amid Unusually Deadly Year For Storms

Tornadoes ripped through the Midwest this week, causing severe damages to homes, roads and buildings in several states. Three people were reported dead while several others were listed as injured.

In all, 22 tornadoes touched down in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee Tuesday, and the powerful weather systems were expected to spread across the Midwest throughout Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, which could leave nearly 100 people at risk of severe weather and damages.

In Missouri, Highway State Patrol Sergeant Al Nothum confirmed to CNN a man was killed just south of Perryville. The man was reportedly driving down the highway when a tornado blew about 20 cars that were parked at a nearby junkyard onto the freeway.

"This tornado picked up about 15-20 of these old cars, picked them up, blew them out of the junkyard, across the county road and into Interstate 55,” Nothum said.

The two others were found dead following tornadoes in Ottawa and Villiage of Crossville in Illinois, according to reports.

Although the tornadoes were expected to die down after Wednesday, damaging winds were still expected to hit the Southeast and East, The Weather Channel reported. Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee were expected to receive a round of severe thunderstorms Wednesday night.

In 2016, the U.S. tornado rate was below average, as it had been for the past four years, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The department said there were 985 preliminary tornado counts in 2016, with 834 tornado reports confirmed from January to August.

However, in 2017, the tornado monthly average is already four times greater than what was reported from 1991-2012, averaging about 35 tornadoes a month so far. Data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Storm Prediction Center said there were 138 preliminary tornado reports so far in 2017.