Dozens of tornadoes tore through the US Midwest on Friday (April 26) and Saturday (April 27), damaging hundreds of homes and causing blackouts, injuries, and at least four deaths.
Twenty-seven million people remained at risk of severe weather into Sunday, including wind gusts, hail, and flood risks, NBC reported.
78 tornadoes were recorded on Friday, mainly in Nebraska and Iowa, and 35 more were recorded on Saturday from northern Texas and Oklahoma to Missouri.
Highlights
- Dozens of tornadoes hit the US Midwest, resulting in hundreds of homes damaged and at least four deaths.
- A woman in Omaha, Nebraska, documented a tornado in her neighborhood.
- Local authorities and forecasters were praised for their timely warnings, preventing further injuries and deaths.
The damage was most extensive in Sulphur, an Oklahoma town of about 5,000 inhabitants, where scores of homes were reduced to rubble, and about 30 people were injured.
Image credits: tuktuklover99
According to the US National Weather Service (NWS), the tornadoes had gusts of above 136 miles (218 km) an hour.
Storms also swept from Texas to Missouri, with some towns registering up to seven inches (18cm) of rainfall within hours.
And yet, in the midst of the chaos, a woman decided to step outside of her Omaha, Nebraska, home to document a tornado from a distance.
"Kyle and I got the alert on our phones," said TikTok user @tuktuklover99 in a video shared on Saturday (April 28), explaining that the recorded events had taken place the previous day. "Naturally, we went outside."
The video captures the nearly deserted streets of Elkhorn as a twister advanced into the neighborhood on Friday
Image credits: tuktuklover99
The camera then focused on the dense, funnel-shaped clouds that appeared in the background. The streets were nearly deserted, with only a few vehicles in sight.
In addition to the heavy wind, a siren could be heard in the video.
"I did not add sound," the TikTok's caption read. "You're watching the tornado rip through the neighborhood of Elkhorn. Nebraskans are strong and will rebuild!"
"There it is!" the TikToker, named Kelley, shouted as lightning struck in the direction of the twister.
"Nebraskans are strong and will rebuild," Kelley wrote
Image credits: tuktuklover99
In a separate video, captioned "The closest I've ever been to a tornado. Eventful day in Omaha, Nebraska," Kelley zooms in on the tornado as she asks whether she should be filming it instead of seeking shelter inside her home. "Should we put everybody in the basement?"
During the same weekend, Kelley posted another video addressing her surprisingly calm reaction to the twister. "The rest of the world watching as all the Americans go outside to film the tornados," she wrote.
People quickly took to the comments of her videos, sharing their own reactions to the severe weather outbreak that tore through the Midwest.
"It's a Midwestern thing. We're all outside watching it until it's close enough that we actually have to go downstairs," a social media user commented, while another person added, "Those of us in the Midwest are a different kind of person."
Kelley also addressed her surprisingly calm reaction to the tornado
Image credits: tuktuklover99
A third individual, who didn’t feel as calm and collected regarding the whirlwinds, penned, "As someone who just moved to Iowa, this storm has scared the hell out of me."
Others were entirely baffled by the TikToker’s composed demeanor, saying, "Being from ON, Canada, this is so insane and foreign to me. I cannot imagine living here!"
"I'm a Floridian in the Tampa Bay Area, but this would still give me literal PTSD," a separate TikTok user chimed in.
In Nebraska, the tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, the Associated Press reported. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Everyone was evacuated, and the injuries that were reported were not life-threatening.
One or two tornadoes then crept toward Omaha, where they ultimately slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood, destroying properties and causing 10,000 power outages.
"The closest I've ever been to a tornado," she captioned a separate video documenting the severe weather in Omaha
Image credits: tuktuklover99
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday arranging for assistance for the damaged communities.
A second tornado then swept through Eppley Airfield on the eastern edge of Omaha before advancing into Iowa, causing significant damage to the small town of Minden, where 40 to 50 homes were completely destroyed.
"It's heartbreaking to see these people who have lost houses, cars, essentially their life until they have to rebuild it," said Jeff Theulen, chief deputy of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office, at a late Friday briefing.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said on Saturday that no deaths had been reported despite the heavy damage to some of the resident's properties.
"I do want to thank our local forecasters for the clear and accurate warnings that they gave," Stothert said. "Because all of you prevented a lot of injury and probably death."
Oklahoma's Office of Emergency Management confirmed three deaths, one near Marietta on I-35 and two others in Holdenville, where one of the victims was four months old. When Gov. Kevin Stitt arrived in Sulphur on Sunday afternoon, he confirmed a fourth victim had died in the downtown area.
“Everything else can be rebuilt, but we can’t restore life and the wonderful Oklahomans we lost,” said Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, who represents the Sulphur area.
The TikTok user's decision to record the twister ignited varying reactions online
