The ongoing spell of severe weather in US produced another massive tornado in Kansas on May 25, 2016. A 0.8 km (0.5 miles) wide twister caused major damage in the Dickinson County and injured several people. Luckily, no fatalities were reported.
A violent tornado touched down after 19:00 (local time) on May 25, near the Ottawa County community of Niles, according to Chad Omitt, the National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist. The tornado continued sweeping the grounds from the north of Abilene, east-southeast over I-70 and south of Chapman until 20:35. It was between 0.4 and 0.8 km (0.25 and 0.5 miles) wide at times.
According to Paul Froelich, Dickenson County Incident Commander, 20 homes were damaged, 6 of which were completely devastated. The local firefighters and Kansas Highway Patrol reported 4 or 5 people were hurt. Luckily, the injuries were only minor.
Video credit: StormChasingVideo.com
Video credit: Breaking Disaster
Video credit: StormChasingVideo.com
The media reports a tractor tire was thrown through a house northwest of Abilene. None of the residents were injured, although the entire back side of their home was destroyed. A local shelter for those affected has been set up at the Abilene's Community Center.
The NWS forecasted this outbreak of extreme weather will last until the end of the week, and it has already produced significant damage over the last two days. Severe thunderstorms, which hit portions of the Plains on May 24, sprouted 26 tornadoes across five states. More than 12 touched down in Kansas, only while several more were reported in Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado.
Severe thunderstorms are possible over portions of the Plains through the rest of the week. The main threats associated with these storms are large hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes. At the same time, locally abundant amounts of precipitation may trigger flooding, especially over portions of the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley.
Image credit: DOC/NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Weather Prediction Center
Image credit: DOC/NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Weather Prediction Center
On May 26, tornadoes, intense hailstorms and strong winds may affect the central and southern Plains from Nebraska and Iowa into Kansas, eastern Colorado, western Missouri, Oklahoma, west-central and north Texas. Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and large hail are expected to strongly impact parts of South Dakota and southern Minnesota to central and east Texas on May 27.
Featured image: Tornado near Abilene, Kansas, May 25, 2016. Image credit: StormChasingVideo.com
