Massive Half-Mile Wide Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma, Several More Spotted Across The State As Well As Iowa And Texas

Devastating tornadoes are tearing across parts of eastern Nebraska and Iowa on Friday as a multiday severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.

Storms began in parts of the Plains and South early Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service had received at least 60 reports of tornadoes in at least five states as of 9:30 p.m. ET, making today the busiest day for tornadoes in the US in more than a year.

In addition to tornado warnings, there have been 19 damaging wind reports and 45 hail reports from Friday’s severe weather outbreak. Three of those hail reports were at least 2 inches in diameter, approximately lime-sized.

In Elkhorn, an area on the edge of Omaha, first responders are still combing through the wreckage left behind by the tornado, searching through flattened homes for anyone trapped or injured, local authorities announced at a Friday news conference. The area is grappling with power outages, gas leaks, toppled trees, and unstable structures. Two people were transported for medical treatment with minor injuries. “We think injuries were so little because the warning systems in the City of Omaha and Douglas County were highly effective,” Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said. “We were not hit with a sudden storm. People had warned of this, which saved lives, in our opinion.”

One storm chaser described a “very devastating situation” after a tornado barreled through Elkhorn. “Some houses have been swept and no longer exist,” Thomas Hinterdorfer told CNN. “Most homes in this immediate area have suffered significant damage and it’s likely going to be a long clean-up effort.”

At least two tornadoes were observed in Texas Friday afternoon, one northeast of Waco. Video of the twister posted to social media showed it churning across a large field.

Serious storms are expected to continue through Sunday, but Saturday might be the most dangerous day, when the threat will extend from Michigan to Texas, including Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Dallas, Milwaukee, Chicago and Austin. The storms may bring damaging wind gusts, hail up to the size of baseballs and strong tornadoes.

Some of the same areas hit by storms Friday could be back in the path of storms Saturday, including southeastern Nebraska, southern Iowa, eastern Kansas, and northeastern Texas. In total, more than 50 million people are under the threat of severe weather Saturday.