category 4 storm leaving a huge path of destruction and millions in the dark this morning. we ll have a live report in just a moment. meanwhile, rescue crews have been busy trying to get people who decided to ride out the storm to try and save them. they re stranded now by rising flood waters and we re still tracking ian as it slowly makes its way across florida. at this hour, it still has more to go. good morning, and welcome to morning joe. it s thursday, september 29th. joe is off this morning. along with willie and me, we have the host of way too early, white house bureau chief at politico, jonathan lemire. without power this morning, first light this morning will begin to show the damage in florida. that s right. that s when we re going to start to see the story of what happened last night, what happened overnight. tropical storm now ian downgraded from a category 1 hurricane. in just the last hour, but still wreaking havoc across florida as it made landfall as a
oh, my gosh reporter: an ef-3 tornado packing winds topping 160 miles an hour. this drone video capturing a rare glimpse of the andover twister. while you can t hear it, the images stunning you can see degree suck skyward as the funnel forms, seconds before the twister starts tearing through homes. we were not prepared when we came outside to see it, all of this. it is pretty shocking. reporter: eric and melanie barney showed the closet where the entire family hid praying as the tornado closed in. we could hear the glass shattering out there. so had no idea what was happening. reporter: officials crediting early warnings with zero tornado deaths but the storm didn t leave without tragedy. this is gavin s 12th tornado reporter: beth and allen short say their so gavin, a top meteorology student at the university of oklahoma called to say he was storm chasing friday with two
oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. holy crap. that was the terrified voice of ben smith, an iowa state meteorology student. take a look at this hailstorm in the chicago suburb of oak lawn. just part of a much broader outbreak throughout the midwest. let s bring in cnn s pedram javaheri live in the weather center. wow, may has just been wild. it has been, unlike any we have seen in recent memory at least when you take a look at the number of tornadoes and severe weather reports in recent days. 46 reports of tornadoes in the past 24 hours. as you mentioned into the month of may approaching 500. in the last 12 days, we have had tornadoes each and every day, covering an area about 17 states, that s 321 tornadoes in a 12-day span. really an incredible set up and
also hit by a tornado last night. seven people were hurt. there s significant damage. mayor jeff hazel tells cnn affiliate w.h.i.o., power is out for the entire city with door-to-door checks underway, and we are getting reports of damage in pendleton, indiana, the high school serving as a shelter for those who have been displaced. the whole town is devastated. trees are down on almost every street in the town. oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. that was a terrified voice of ben smith, iowa state meteorology student who captured footage of a possible micro burst in yorkville, illinois. take a look at this hailstorm, pelting the chicago suburb of oak lawn, part of a much broader outbreak throughout the midwest. cnn s pedram javaheri live in the weather center with a look