Tornadoes strike Kansas, Oklahoma as severe storms pummel central US

Over a dozen tornadoes were reported in the Plains on Thursday as tornadic storms moved across the heartland, leaving behind damage to at least one town.

The tornado damage was reported in Weskan, Kansas, on Thursday evening and consisted of a roof being partially blown off of a school, a toppled grain bin and blown-out windows and trees, according to KWCH 12 News. Weskan is located just east of the Colorado-Kansas border. No injuries were reported in Weskan as of Thursday evening.

Weskan School Principal Jeffrey Montero told KWCH 12 that although he was thankful and happy no one got injured during the storm, the damages to the school now leaves graduation plans up in the air.

According to Montero, the community had just finished installing new bleachers on the football field. And graduation was set to take place on the field this Saturday, utilizing the new bleachers. But, the damage from the twister has made them unusable.

"We had them up for about a week or two weeks, and I don't think we'll ever get to use them again," Montero said to KWCH 12. "Things like this happen, bad things happen. No one got hurt, so that's a good day for me."

Elsewhere in Kansas, a rain-wrapped tornado was reported near McDonald, Kansas, on Thursday afternoon. Other tornado reports in Kansas included a spotter-reported spin-up in Gove County and a tornado near Edson, Kansas, about 15 miles southeast of Goodland.

An additional tornado was confirmed in Oklahoma on Thursday evening in Grady County. The confirmed tornado was located near Tuttle, about 20 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Just after 7:30 p.m. CDT, another tornado was located near Cole, Oklahoma. Interstate 35 was closed to allow the tornado to pass without hitting traffic, according to KFOR.

Joe Acord, a storm chaser, captured the moment a tornado touched down south of Goldsby, Oklahoma, late Thursday night. (Twitter/Joe Acord)

In Colorado, a potential tornadic debris signature (TDS) was noted Thursday afternoon near Hale. Multiple tornadoes were reported near Arapahoe, where spotters confirmed short-lived tornadoes that were lifting and dropping again.

A possible rain-wrapped tornado was reported in Dundy County, Nebraska. A tornado was also on the ground about 4 miles southwest of McCook, Nebraska, on Thursday.

At least 23 preliminary tornado reports were listed by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center on Thursday.

Besides tornadoes, heavy rain and hail fell across parts of the Plains this week. Some areas picked up more than two months' worth of rain in two days, while other areas were pelted with hailstones.

At the Cherry Creek Reservoir State Park in Colorado, which is located about 9 miles southeast of Denver, nearly 10 inches of rain from Tuesday afternoon to Thursday night left several roads damaged. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Twitter account shared photos online of the flooded roadways.

According to CPW, several roads and parts of the dog park were closed due to standing water. The agency says it does not know when the roads will reopen, but expect the closures to continue throughout the weekend.

Rainfall reports from Wednesday afternoon to early Friday morning.

At the Denver International Airport, 4.03 inches of rain was reported from Wednesday to Friday morning, which is well above normal. The historical average precipitation for the entire month of May in Denver is 2.16 inches.

"In fact, Denver's historical average for annual precipitation is 14.48 inches," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski. "So they have had over a quarter of their typical precipitation just with this storm in the last 48 hours."

Wildlife cameras across Colorado captured the hailstorm as it moved across parts of the state on Thursday. One camera from the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Foundation showed an osprey protecting her nest from the hailstones.

In another video, shared by CPW on Twitter, the full force of the hailstorm was seen. As the hailstorm came to an end, a family of bears was seen retreating into the cave behind the camera. The agency said the bears "are okay."

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