Tornado damage reported in Missouri as severe storms march across Midwest, Plains

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Powerful thunderstorms produced an apparent tornado Friday in Missouri, and forecasters warned that flash flooding is also possible in an area that has been hit by heavy rain most of the week.

According to the National Weather Service, a storm chaser reported a tornado near Russellville, Missouri. One chaser shared images with FOX Weather showing buildings and trees that had been damaged in the nearby town of Richmond. He said in a tweet that no one appeared to have been injured by the storm.

The NWS will likely send a survey team to confirm if a tornado indeed caused the damage and determine its rating.

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Flooding closed Missouri Highway 6 just west of Altamont, Missouri, according to a storm report from the NWS.

Missouri has already been pounded by torrential rain and dangerous storms several times this week. In many cases, the storms trained – moved over the same area multiple times – and led to very high rainfall amounts.

Columbia broke a 113-year-old rainfall record Thursday when 3.77 inches of rain fell on the central Missouri town.

Missouri isn’t the only place in the central U.S. seeing ferocious weather. Severe Thunderstorm Watches have been issued for several states in the Plains, as well.

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The storms are expected to march east overnight and continue dumping heavy rain on some places that have been saturated this week. Flooding is a concern, especially in parts of Missouri and Illinois, where a Flood Watch was issued Friday.

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Flooding was extreme across the South on Friday morning. Flash Flood Emergencies – the most serious of flood alerts – were issued in Kentucky and Tennessee, where a mobile home park was flooded.

More storms are forecast in the Plains and Midwest on Saturday as a multiday severe weather threat unfolds across the northern tier of the U.S.