Reuters: Most Read Articles: Tornadoes pound U.S. Plains, region braces for more

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Tornadoes pound U.S. Plains, region braces for more Apr 15th 2012, 03:48 1 of 4. A lightning strike is seen near the water tower of Benkelman, Nebraska April 12, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Gene Blevins By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY | Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:48pm EDT KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Tornadoes pummeled Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas on Saturday and severe weather struck a hospital in Iowa as residents of the U.S. Central and Southern Plains states hunkered down for a predicted major outbreak of twisters that could continue into the night. But even as storms skipped across the region, no deaths or injuries were reported from twisters by nightfall, as violent tornadoes appeared largely restricted to mostly underpopulated areas. "Conditions will remain very favorable through the evening for very strong and potentially long-lived tornadoes," the National Weather Service said in an advisory. "Tornadoes will be possible in these areas through the early morning hours." It warned that nighttime tornadoes can be particularly dangerous because they are usually fast-moving and often obscured by rain and darkness, but said the likelihood of the strongest storms was not as high overnight. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the worst conditions were expected to hit late on Saturday between Oklahoma City and Salina, Kansas, while other areas could see baseball-sized hail and strong winds. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes were also expected over parts of Nebraska, The National Weather Service said, and severe storms were possible from Texas to Minnesota. In the Iowa town of Creston, the Greater Regional Medical Center hospital was damaged by a possible tornado on Saturday evening, said a woman who answered the phone there but declined to give her name. "We've been hit," she said. Asked if there were injuries, she said, "none that I know of." A dispatcher for the Union County sheriff's office said he was unable to release any information about damages to the hospital or buildings. The National Weather Service could not immediately confirm the storm was a tornado. Creston City Councilman Randy White said patients were being moved to hospitals in surrounding communities after the tornado passed north and west of downtown, knocking out power to all but a small part of the town of about 7,500 people. Tornadoes also raced through north central Kansas in the early evening. Five homes in rural Saline County were damaged, but the tornado avoided towns and no one was hurt, said Joe Koch, county director of emergency management. "It could have been much worse," he said. CNN later reported a tornado warning in Wichita, where thunderstorms were sending lightning across the night sky. FEARS OF REPEAT OF DEADLY 2011 SEASON The U.S. tornado season started early this year, with twisters already blamed for 57 deaths in 2012 in the Midwest and South, raising concerns that this year would be a repeat of 2011, the deadliest tornado year in nearly a century. Some 550 people died in tornadoes last year, including 316 killed in an April outbreak in five Southern states, and 161 people in Joplin, Missouri, the following month. An apparent tornado near Oxford, Nebraska, on Saturday evening took a roof off a farm house and toppled a grain bin but no injuries or other serious damage in the area were reported, said Bridget Timmerman, a dispatcher for the Harlan County sheriff's office. Tornadoes briefly touched down earlier in Nebraska's Nuckolls County and Thayer County. Bad weather in that state led to the cancellation of Saturday's Red-White Spring Game at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The football scrimmage will not be rescheduled, university officials said. "It's disappointing for the players who I know look forward to this day and it's disappointing for the fans, but what are you going to do?" Coach Bo Pelini said in a statement. "You have to look at the safety of everyone involved." In northwestern Oklahoma, a tornado touched down for less than a minute in the afternoon, said Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman. Tennis-ball-sized hail fell in the region, the weather service said. "We'll have storms all night long in Oklahoma," Smith said. A tornado had earlier hit Mustang, a suburb of Oklahoma City, before dawn, the weather service confirmed. One home had major roof damage, and trees, power lines and fences were down, said Kristy Yager, a spokeswoman for Oklahoma City. Oklahoma activated its emergency operations center as a precaution ahead of the storms. "We really want to make sure that the public is aware that this is a serious threat and make sure that people are prepared," said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. (Reporting By Corrie MacLaggan and Steve Olafson; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Todd Eastham) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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