A powerful tornado chewed across the Kansas City, Kan., area for more than an hour Tuesday evening, damaging homes, downing trees and injuring at least 12 people, officials said.
The storm cut a path of destruction for at least 35 miles from Overbrook, Kan., to Bonner Springs, Kan., said Jonathan Kurtz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
“It’s fairly long,” he said of the tornado’s path. “The storm became anchored on the warm front itself. It’s not completely unheard of but this was a pretty strong storm.”
The central U.S. has been besieged by tornadoes for more than a week, with at least seven deaths attributed to them. Heavy rains have also contributed to flooding on the Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas Rivers and other rivers and lakes.
“The tornadoes are just a disaster on top of an ongoing disaster with all the flooding we’ve had across the area,” Mr. Kurtz said.
Mr. Kurtz said the storm spawned a second tornado that struck in the area of Kearney, Mo., and Exelsior Springs, Mo., but didn’t leave as much damage there.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kristen Channel said that around 6:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, a tornado swept from the county’s southwest section to the northeast, leaving a number of residences and buildings with “substantial if not devastating damage.”
“It was on the ground and covered really quite a swath in Douglas County,” she said.
At least a dozen weather-related injuries were reported, she said, but officials knew of no fatalities.