No injuries reported in US outbreak of small tornadoes; more storms possible
May 12, 2023, 4:58 AM
Storms in parts of the southern Plains produced about two dozen small tornadoes but no reports of deaths or injuries, according to the National Weather Service, and more severe weather is possible Friday.
Nearly 15 tornadoes were reported Thursday in northwestern Kansas, southwestern Nebraska and eastern Colorado, according to weather service meteorologist Ryan Husted in Goodland, Kansas.
Damage was reported to the roof, windows and football stadium at the high school in the unincorporated community of Weskan in western Kansas, near the Colorado border, Husted said, but other twisters did little to no damage.
“All were weak or small … brief and shorter lived, most of them stayed out across our agricultural lands,” Husted said.
As many as 10 tornadoes were reported in central Oklahoma, according to weather service meteorologist Scott Curl.
Homes and businesses were damaged in the Oklahoma towns of Noble, Newcastle and Tuttle, as well as Cole, where a tornado on April 19 killed three people.
The weather service will send investigators to assess the damage and rate the strength of the tornadoes later Friday, Curl and Husted said.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center says another round of storms is possible beginning Friday afternoon, primarily in the mid-Missouri Valley — a region centering on Omaha, Nebraska. A few tornadoes, large hail and wind damage could occur, the center said, with large hail and strong winds also forecast in the southern Plains.
