Videos Show Tornado Rip Through Kansas

Severe weather tore through northwest Kansas on Wednesday, producing at least one reported tornado and hail up to the size of softballs.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued severe thunderstorm warnings for several counties Wednesday night, including the Kansas City metro area. Tornado warnings were also issued northeast of Topeka, and forecasters urged residents to seek shelter and avoid windows. Parts of northwestern Missouri were also under severe thunderstorm warnings as of 11 p.m. EST.

Videos of the hailstorm, which the NWS said at one point produced hail up to 3.5 inches in diameter, were shared to X, formerly Twitter. In one clip shared by KMBC from a resident in Kansas City, Kansas, large balls of ice covered the ground of the cameraman's front lawn while lightning flashed in the background.

Meteorologist Lindsey Anderson, based in Kansas City, Missouri, captured a photo in which she held a handful of hail, with the image shared to X by KSHB. According to the NWS, hail damage to vehicles was expected during the storm, as was potential wind damage to roofs, siding and trees.

Other residents captured videos of a tornado that reportedly touched down just east of Alta Vista, Kansas, on Wednesday night. Storm chaser Ben Williams posted a video at 8:51 p.m. EST of a large funnel forming near Council Grove—roughly 15 miles south of Alta Vista and southwest of Kansas City.

Another video of the tornado, captured by storm chaser Aaron Jayjack, was shared to X by AccuWeather at 9:25 p.m., as the twister was seen near Alta Vista. KSNW reported at 10:51 p.m. EST Wednesday that one of its meteorologists, Jack Maney, tracked a storm that produced a tornado just east of Alta Vista.

Tornado watches were issued by the NWS for Atchison, Coffey, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee and Wyandotte counties until 2 a.m. Thursday.

According to NWS' Storm Prediction Center, preliminary reports found that three tornadoes occurred during the storms tracked Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, the NWS told Newsweek via email. Those reports have not been confirmed by forecasters, however, and storm survey crews at the Weather Forecast Office in Topeka, Kansas, were sent out to investigate preliminary findings on Thursday.

As of 4:30 p.m. EST Thursday, no tornados had been confirmed by the NWS.

The storm system will continue shifting eastward on Thursday, although the threat of hail is expected to lessen as it moves through northeastern Texas and central Missouri. Forecasters who spoke with the Associated Press said that heavy rains and high winds were still expected later this week.

Read more: Plan Ahead for Emergencies

According to Alex Sosnowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, forecasters are watching for the potential of torrential rain on Friday as the storm reaches Louisiana and Arkansas, which has the chance of producing up to 4 inches.

Update 03/14/24, 4:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from the National Weather Service.