A tornado hit Nebraska as severe storms are set to tear across the Midwest, putting roughly 20 million people at risk, the National Weather Service said.
The tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon, demolishing homes as the twister tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. It wasn’t yet clear if anyone was injured or killed in the storm.
National Weather Service
Multiple tornadoes were reported in Nebraska but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people.
Few details were immediately available.
Nebraska Emergency Management said in a statement to CBS News, “We are currently deploying resources to assess damage from the recent severe weather impacting Lancaster County.”
There have been 13 walk-ins to hospitals and a train derailment near 90th Street and Highway 6, the spokesperson said, with no serious injuries or hazmat incidents reported.
Photos on social media showed heavily damaged homes and shredded trees. Video showed homes with roofs stripped of shingles, in a rural area near Omaha. Law enforcement were blocking off roads in the area.
Chris Gannon / AP
Thunderstorms possibly bringing large hail are expected to cross the Missouri Valley and Midwest to the central and southern Plains through the weekend.
The Weather Service also issued tornado watches across parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. And forecasters warned that large hail and damaging wind gusts were possible.
Severe storms and tornadoes hit Kansas and Iowa last week causing damage and hurting two people. Ping pong ball-sized hail was reported just north of the Missouri line.