From New York to Texas, there were more than 200 reports of severe storms on Wednesday.

The town of Greenfield, Iowa, resembled a war zone Thursday. Uprooted trees and overturned cars lay everywhere, and wood that once belonged to homes and businesses was splintered. Residents searched for belongings and family heirlooms in the rubble left by a devastating tornado that swept through the community, killing four people.

A swarm of at least 26 tornadoes swept through Greenfield and other parts of Iowa and five other Midwestern states overnight Tuesday. The National Weather Service confirmed that the funnel cloud that swept through Greenfield was an EF-4 cloud on the enhanced Fujita scale, with maximum winds of up to 185 mph. It was about 44 miles above the ground.

A fifth person was killed in a suspected tornado-related incident about 25 miles from Greenfield, officials said.

In addition to the dead, 35 people were injured in Greenfield, about 60 miles southwest of Des Moines.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday that at least 202 homes in Iowa were destroyed or severely damaged. She said she had expanded the disaster declaration from 15 to 32 counties and submitted a request for disaster assistance to FEMA and the White House.

“It is both heartbreaking and inspiring to hear the stories of residents who barely escaped with their lives,” Reynolds said. “Our deepest condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones.”

Donna Dubberke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, said the agency was investigating three separate long-track tornadoes that left a combined 130-mile (210-kilometer) path of destruction. Dubberke said Iowa will face even more severe weather Thursday evening.

“It's heartbreaking,” Greenfield resident Cam Harter told ABC News as she and her husband, Jay Harter, searched through the rubble of their home of 26 years.

“That's the stairs that went down to the basement,” Cam Harter explained. “The whole upstairs is gone. The garage back there, a two-and-a-half car garage, is gone.”

Even metal grain silos could not withstand the powerful storm. Many of them were crushed as if they were tin cans. Several towering wind turbines were also knocked over, one of which caught fire.

Joan Newall stood next to her destroyed Greenfield home of more than 50 years as she told ABC News that when the tornado hit, she sought shelter in the basement, where search and rescue crews found her and carried her to safety.

She said four of her neighbors did not survive.

“Their house had no basement,” Newall said.

Across Greenfield, an army of electricians worked to restore power Thursday. Search and rescue teams combed the town for possible survivors, marking homes and vehicles with spray paint to indicate they were being searched and cleared.

According to the National Weather Service, at least 21 of the 26 reported tornadoes caused by Tuesday's storm struck Iowa between 5:44 p.m. and 11 p.m. CT.

So far, four tornadoes have been confirmed in Iowa based on preliminary figures from the National Weather Service – including the EF-4 in Greenfield and an EF-3 in Carbon with wind speeds of up to 240 km/h.

The only hospital serving Greenfield, Adair County Health System (ACHS), sustained significant damage, requiring the evacuation of staff and patients and the closure of the facility, hospital officials said.

“There were no injuries to staff or patients at the hospital during the storm,” officials said in a statement. “The hospital was closed immediately after the tornado passed through, devastating the city of Greenfield. It will remain closed pending further assessments. It will likely take weeks, if not months, to fully repair the damage.”

Hospital workers set up a makeshift primary care hospital at an elementary and high school on Thursday. The Bell County town of Temple suffered the most from the tornado damage, officials said.

The severe weather continued Wednesday night and Thursday morning, spawning tornadoes in Central Texas. The city of Temple, Texas, was hardest hit by the storm, where an EF-2 tornado was confirmed with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.

Dozens of homes, businesses and buildings in Temple were damaged or destroyed, officials said. The storms blew the roofs off at least 30 homes in Temple, downed numerous power lines and downed trees throughout the city.

Temple residents Abbie Rurup and Gavin Ethridge told ABC affiliate KVUE in Austin that at some point during Wednesday's storm, the floor, walls and ceiling of their home shook, prompting them to seek shelter in a back room closet.

“Whenever I left the house for the first time, [a] “The whole row of houses on the side and their roofs were almost completely gone,” said Rurup. “I just collapsed.”

Ethridge said that during the chaotic weather event, the windows of her kitchen and living room were blown out and a power line fell across her backyard.

“It's always nice to hear and see it in the movies. But for it to actually happen here… I'm just happy and glad that we're OK,” Ethridge said.

Shadavia Blakemore told KVUE that the ceiling of her apartment collapsed during the storm.

“I mean, it was just loud, the wind was getting stronger and stronger and it was just harder than what I normally hear,” Blakemore explained. “It started to sound like a train and the wind was just getting too strong and I knew a tornado was coming. [was] outside.”

Blakemore said she immediately packed some things and went to her mother's house nearby to wait out the storm.

“I'm upset because I have to leave my apartment and it collapsed,” Blakemore added. “I guess it's bittersweet because my lease is up soon. We're safe, that's the most important thing.”

More than 200 severe storms were reported from New York to Texas on Wednesday.

2024 was the most active tornado season since 2017. So far, 859 tornadoes have been reported. The average number of tornadoes from January to May this year is 578.

Even harsher weather conditions are forecast for the Memorial Day weekend across much of the Heartland from the Dakotas to Texas in the south, including the major cities of Dallas, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, Omaha and Fargo.

The greatest danger on Friday will be damaging winds and heavy hail, but the possibility of a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out from northern Texas to Nebraska.

Severe weather is expected from Dallas to Chicago on Friday, with damaging winds and hail being the greatest threat.

Severe weather is forecast for Saturday from Dallas to Lincoln, Nebraska, and the risk of tornadoes is likely to increase.

Looking ahead, severe weather could continue into Sunday and possibly Memorial Day.