Multivortex tornado rips through Kansas amid severe weather
A massive tornado near Norton, Kansas, in the northwestern part of the state, was caught on video by a storm chaser on Thursday evening as severe weather erupted across portions of the Plains. Dozens of storm reports came in from Kansas to Texas amid the round of volatile weather. AccuWeather meteorologists say the menacing thunderstorms were part of a multiday severe weather event unfolding across the central United States.
The tornado footage, captured by Dan Fitts of Severe Studios, showed multiple vortices swirling within the twister northwest of Norton. Multivortex tornadoes are typically large and feature several areas of rotation embedded within the primary funnel. These embedded vortices are often responsible for more severe damage.
However, there were no reports of damage in Norton, the sherrif's office said, according to a local news site Hays Post.
The severe thunderstorms also spawned torrential rainfall, damaging winds and large hail as far south as northern Texas. Hailstones as large as tennis balls and baseballs hammered southern portions of Nebraska and northern Kansas. In the small city of Red Cloud, Nebraska, located in the far south-central part of the state, baseball-sized hail damaged cars and stripped leaves off trees.
AccuWeather storm chaser Tony Laubach hit the road in pursuit of capturing severe weather. Laubach stopped to film mammatus clouds hovering over Maywood, Nebraska, about 35 miles southeast of North Platte, Nebraska, on Thursday evening. These bulbous clouds often develop underneath anvil clouds associated with severe thunderstorms.
Severe weather is expected to ignite on a daily basis across parts of the Plains into the weekend. AccuWeather meteorologists highlighted "moderate" risk areas for severe storms on both Friday and Saturday.
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