Child dies at Ala. air show as wind topples tents

updated 11:27 p.m. ET June 29, 2008

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A 5-year-old was killed when strong winds blew over a row of tents at an Alabama air show during storms that stretched across the South on Sunday while severe weather caused airport delays in the East, officials said.

The winds that toppled the tents and canceled the air show in Huntsville came during an isolated strong thunderstorm that developed just west of the airport with gusts of 48 mph, said Tim Troutman of the National Weather Service.

Witnesses told The Huntsville Times that a generator fell on the child Sunday. The death was confirmed by the Madison County coroner's office.

Twelve others were treated for injuries, but only one, a different child, was admitted to the hospital. That child was in serious condition, said Pam Sparks, a spokeswoman at Huntsville Hospital.

In New York, severe thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon battered LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports, causing delays of as much as three hours at Kennedy airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Some LaGuardia flights were delayed up to 75 minutes.

Weather also caused delays averaging more than an hour and a half in flights to Boston's Logan International Airport and delays of more than two hours at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, the FAA said.

Residents of Omaha, Nebraska and the surrounding area cleaned up debris and fallen tree limbs Sunday as utility crews worked to restore power to the roughly 33,000 who still didn't have electricity afternoon after winds Friday caused extensive damage across eastern Nebraska.

The National Weather Service in Omaha, Nebraska said Sunday the winds reached as high as 115 mph.

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