Harrowing footage captured the moment a devastating tornado ripped through a small town in Oklahoma, destroying many homes and leaving thousands without power.
The terrifying tornado struck the Midwestern state on Wednesday night, while parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Iowa were placed under a hurricane watch.
Hail the size of a tennis ball and high winds severely damaged many homes, while more than 3,000 people were affected in several counties by the power outages.
A severe weather front is expected to extend across multiple states throughout Wednesday night and into the coming days, which could see many more tornadoes devastating the area.
The devastation comes as several more tornadoes have battered the Midwest and South in recent weeks, with at least 26 people perishing in the carnage.
A terrifying tornado devastated Cole, Oklahoma, on Wednesday night
More than 3,000 people in several counties were left without power after the hurricane ripped through the Midwestern state
Hail the size of a tennis ball and strong winds destroyed several homes in the area
The National Weather Service warned that the tornado would be “very large and dangerous” as it swept through Cole, Oklahoma, a town of about 600 people.
An extreme weather front is expected to cause significant damage in the coming days, although it is mostly hitting rural areas at the moment.
The forecast center added in its warning that the hurricane will bring “severe thunderstorms with the possibility of very significant hail.”
She added that there is a “risk of some tornadoes” in the region, and “strong gusts are likely from late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening across parts of the central states.”
Winds up to 75 mph were forecast as the storm system moved west into the Great Plains Wednesday evening.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for residents in the storm’s path, including residents of Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.
Overnight, the damage is expected to extend into Austin, Texas, while also reaching St. Louis, Missouri where several other isolated tornadoes are possible.
Residents in the storm’s path are being urged to take cover, with some reporting entire homes being flattened by the destruction.
It is not currently clear how many people have been infected, but the McLean County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma said it was responding to reports of “injuries and people trapped inside their shelters.”
The devastation comes after multiple tornadoes battered America’s Midwest and South in recent weeks, killing at least 26 people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Destructive storms destroyed homes and businesses and left entire neighborhoods unrecognizable.
The dead included at least nine in one county in Tennessee, four in the small town of Wayne in Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Multiple tornadoes have struck the Midwest and South in recent weeks, killing 26 people. Pictured is a destroyed home in Sullivan, Indiana on April 1, 2023
Masood Shahid Ghaznavi, pictured with his destroyed home in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 1, 2023
Last month, terrifying footage captured the moment a tornado struck a high school in Mississippi, as the state was struggling to deal with a severe weather bombshell.
The massive tornado ripped through Amory High School, before slashing across the Midwest as one of several to hit the area.
The tornado outbreak, which spawned about two dozen tornadoes, caused catastrophic damage to the area, killing at least 26 people and sustaining countless injuries.
And continuing through the beginning of this month, tornadoes were also reported in Alabama and Arkansas, where city officials in Little Rock say more than 2,600 buildings were damaged after finding themselves in the storm’s path.
Huge recovery efforts were made across the affected states, as fallen and splintered trees were ripped apart by high winds.
Walls and windows were blown out by the destruction, while roofs collapsed and thousands of homes and businesses were left in rubble.
