Midwestern Tornadoes Damage Homes, Cause Injuries in 2 States

A pair of tornadoes along the Kansas-Missouri border with speeds of up to about 110 mph damaged homes and caused minor injuries, officials said.

The first twister touched down around 6:30 p.m. Friday about 40 miles south of Kansas City, in Miami County, Kansas, and wiped out a few homes in a sparsely populated area west of Hillsdale Lake, The Kansas City Star reported.

The National Weather Service office in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, said Saturday the tornado’s wind speeds were estimated at 86 to 110 mph.

The second tornado touched down about 7 p.m. near Freeman in Cass County, Missouri, where the weather service said it packed wind speeds of 86 to 100 mph.

The storm broke windows and damaged bleachers and the press box around the football field at Cass Midway High School northwest of Freeman, said Lt. Kevin Tieman, a spokesman for the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

He said at least a dozen homes were damaged, but no injuries were reported.

In Miami County, Kevin Sutton took shelter in a neighbor’s basement as the tornado destroyed his home west of Hillsdale Lake.

“My house is completely gone,” he said. “There’s nothing there.”

Sutton, 68, said the tornado gave only a faint warning before coming over a nearby wooded area and blowing up his modular home. He said the tornado also flattened a nearby home and left his neighbors “banged up,” but not seriously hurt.

“It was here and gone, just like that,” Sutton said. “It was ka-boom. It’s one of those things, you never think it’s going to happen to you, and then it does.”

Tornado warnings were issued in Ray and Carroll counties, but there were no confirmed sightings or property damage.