A tornado swept through Kansas and continued through to Missouri on Friday, leaving behind ripped roofs and uprooted trees. A flash flood warning remains in effect for parts of Illinois as foul weather continues its path to the east.
Spotted near Paolo, Kansas, at around 7:00pm local time, the tornado has been described by local media as “extremely large and dangerous.”
According to immediate reports, several house have been severely damaged in Paola and Hillsdale Lake areas.
"We could see debris coming up," Denise Newkirk, who lives near Hillsdale Lake, told local KCTV5 news.
Newkirk said she and her family were having dinner when a neighbor warned them about a tornado coming up.
"The kids were freaking out a little bit trying to get shoes, water and jackets before going to the basement," she told reporters.
"My heart is still pounding," she added. "It was the first tornado that I have seen."
Newkirk’s house avoided any severe damage, but her front yard got covered with fiber-glass insulation from the Hillsdale Lake campground, KCTV5 reported.
A team of Red Cross disaster responders are heading to the most affected regions “to help residents who have been impacted by a tornado,” the American Red Cross serving Kansas said in a statement on Facebook.
No fatalities have been reported after the tornado, but some residents reported minor injuries in Miami County, Kansas.
"It hit a campground, there it rolled over a few campers. There were some minor injuries to some of the camp folks,” Miami County Undersheriff Wayne Minckley told KMBC.
Leaving behind damage and amazed onlookers, the tornado continued moving towards Cass County, Missouri at approximately 30 miles per hour.
Powerlines have been brought down and several buildings have been damaged, including a school in Freeman.
Meteorologists earlier warned that storms would be heading to the east, hitting parts of Illinois next.
Earlier on Friday, a tornado was seen by a trained weather service spotter in Frankfort, Illinois, near Harlem Avenue and Green Garden Road, the Chicago Tribune reported.
"It was a very brief touchdown probably a minute or two at most," weather service meteorologist Gino Izzi told the newspaper.
Nevertheless, local authorities reported to the weather service that four or five homes suffered slight roof damage, six tall trees were broken and other trees were taken down.
A flash flood warning also remains in effect until 12:45am for parts of Cook, Will and DuPage counties, according to the National Weather Service.