A powerful storm system swept through several states in the Midwest this week, bringing snow, severe thunderstorms and high winds, in addition to tornadoes in parts of Iowa.

The fast-moving system began Tuesday around Utah and moved eastward, dumping more than 12 inches of snow on the Rockies. By Wednesday, strong winds caused major damage in parts of Iowa and Nebraska, where semitrailers were flipped over and people lost power due to downed power lines.

However, Stephen Corfidi, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma, described the system as a "classic mid-November storm," reports The Associated Press.

"Basically there's a warm side and a cold side to these systems, and the unifying threat is a very strong wind field all the way around it," he said. "So on the cold side, you have a chance for snow or freezing precipitation accompanied by very strong winds and occasionally blizzard conditions. ... On the warm side, the thunderstorms that grow in the strong wind environment tend to rotate. And if they rotate long enough, and if the moisture is great enough, they can produce tornadoes. So usually you kind of get a one-two punch with this type of event."

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service confirmed Friday morning that a tornado hit the town of Geneseo, Illinois, reports The Weather Channel.

In other areas of Illinois, officials said winds threw a barn into a roadway in Jo Daviess County Wednesday evening, while a home near Menominee had its roof blown off. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. A semi was also blown over on Interstate 74, and a wall was reportedly blown out of a car dealership in La Harpe.

As a result of the severe weather, over 5,000 customers in northern and central Illinois remained without power Thursday morning, Ameren Energy reported.

According to the National Weather Service, there were six tornadoes in Iowa, including an EF1 tornado with winds that topped off at 110 mph. The twister touched down in a cornfield Wednesday while the storm traveled northeast.. The tornado also crossed Interstate 80, tossing a tractor trailer across the median and into a ditch.

"Being through one before and knowing the devastating stuff before ... it was scary," Mike Poorker told WOWT.

Severe weather also caused damage in Missouri, including a chlorine gas leak at a water treatment plant in Parkville, KMBC reports.