Tornado injures 2 in Kansas as dangerous storms raced across Midwest on Tuesday

02:01

Roof ripped off building during a tornado in Iowa

FOX Weather Storm Trackers captured video of at least one cone-shaped tornado in southeastern Iowa on Tuesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Severe weather left at least two people injured and triggered dozens of Tornado Warnings on Tuesday from Kansas through southeastern Iowa, with multiple twisters captured on video.

Damage was reported in communities such as Mediapolis, Pleasant Grove and Salem in Iowa, where a FOX Weather Storm Tracker captured exclusive video of at least one commercial building being damaged in the high winds. 

04:44

Exclusive video: Apparent tornado sends silo toward storm chaser

Meteorologist talks to FOX Weather Exclusive Storm Tracker Brandon Copic after a possible tornado stripped a roof off a building then blew a silo in front of his car.

Several homes were also reported damaged in nearby New London, Iowa.

According to Chad Hahn, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, the threat was the state's first widespread severe weather threat of the year.

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In Clay County, Missouri, there was also damage to trees near the Camp Branch area of Smithville Lake, according to National Weather Service storm reports. A mobile home was flipped over, but no injuries were reported. Significant damage was reported to Kansas City Trapshooters Association facilities in Smithville, Missouri.

The NWS office in Topeka, Kansas, said it received several reports of tornado damage across Osage County, to the south of Topeka. A survey team determined that the EF-1 tornado was on the ground for 20 minutes and damaged several buildings. At least two people were injured by the twister when their RV was flipped over.

As the storms continued moving east, an emergency manager reported a tornado in Platte County, Nebraska, 3 miles southwest of Platte Center. The manager also reported that the tornado dissipated before touching down again.

01:25

Tornado swirls across Houghton, Iowa

A large tornado was spotted tearing across the horizon in Houghton, Iowa on April 16, 2024. (Video: @MooseT187/ WEATHER TRAKER /TMX)

Another tornado was confirmed within a Tornado Warning just east of Minburn, Iowa, in Dallas County. There was damage to an outbuilding, and sheet metal was scattered in fields, according to NWS storm reports.

In addition, there were multiple reports of strong wind gusts over 60 mph from passing severe thunderstorms across Iowa and Illinois, topped by a gust of 72 mph in Stanwood, Iowa.

More than 20,000 electric outages were reported on Tuesday evening across four states, with Missouri leading the way with more than half the outages, according to PowerOutage.us.

Early Tuesday morning, an American Airlines flight from Kansas City to Chicago returned to the airport due to a possible lightning strike. The flight landed safely at Kansas City International Airport and taxied to the gate under its own power. The airline told FOX Weather that a maintenance team is inspecting the aircraft, and all customers have been accommodated on alternate flights.

During Tuesday's activity, the NWS office that services the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois had to briefly transfer forecasting responsibilities to the NWS office in Des Moines, Iowa, as a tornado-warned thunderstorm approached the NWS facility.

After the storm passed, there was no reported damage to the weather office, and staff took over responsibility for issuing warnings for eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

The SPC received at least 17 reports of tornadoes and more than 100 combined reports of damaging winds and hail from Tuesday's event, with most located in Missouri and Iowa.