Stunning footage captured the moment a powerful tornado barreled towards a Nebraska highway, sweeping perilously close to moving cars.
The terrifying twister was one of at least two dozen tornadoes to rip through several states including Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana and Louisiana.
Video footage shows the massive weather system building near the Nebraska highway before edging closer to oncoming traffic.
The ominous spiraling twister can then be seen coming within inches of the highway as cars attempt to drive past.
Severe weather is forecast to batter the Great Plains and South into the weekend, as the storm front flattened buildings in its path.
Aerial video showed a supermarket roof was ripped off in Noble, Oklahoma, where at least four other businesses and homes were levelled by the storm.
Tornado damage near Cole, Oklahoma was evident as seen in this picture in which the roof of a barn was ripped off
Shocking images showed a roof torn off a grocery store in Noble, Oklahoma on Friday
A gas station in Noble, Oklahoma sustained significant damage after being hit by the storm
Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana were battered with bad weather and at least 16 terrifying twisters on Thursday evening as bad weather rolls through the country’s heartland
The National Weather Service issued tornado watches across numerous counties in Nebraska and Kansas through Friday evening, while further severe weather warnings have been introduced from Missouri to Texas.
Wind gusts up to 75mph caused significant structural damage in several states, while the storm also saw large hail and torrential rainfall reported in numerous counties.
Much of the damage has been to rural areas of the Midwest, leading the National Weather Service to warn the full extent of the destruction may not be known until morning.
There have not been any immediate reports of deaths as a result of the tornadoes.
In Weskan, Kansas, a multi-vortex tornado tore off part of a school’s roof, while also damaging numerous structures including stadium bleachers and a scoreboard.
‘After we left the shelter – it was in the big gym – I noticed a waterfall [as] the roof had gotten damaged pretty good, and water was coming in from the rain,’ Principal of Weskan Schools, Jeff Montero, told KWCH.
‘And then as we walked through the building we saw broken glass. And then upstairs, my office and a few other offices and classrooms and stuff, you can look up and see sky.’
Weskan Schools was just three days out from the end of the year and had prepared the alum-funded bleachers for their graduation ceremony.
The $75,000 bleachers had only stood at the school for a week and a half before the twister mangled the structure. However, Montero admitted he was ‘just happy no one got hurt.’
In Weskan, Kansas, a multi-vortex tornado tore off part of a school’s roof, while also damaging stadium bleachers, a scoreboard, and more
Weskan Schools was just three days out from the end of the year and had prepared the alum-funded bleachers for their graduation ceremony. The $75,000 bleachers had only stood at the school for a week and a half before the twister mangled the structure
A tree was seem blocking a roadway in Kansas after one of the twisters (pictured)
Other tornados also touched down in McDonald, Grove County, and Edson in Kansas, according to Accuweather.
In Colorado, many short-lived tornadoes were spotted bouncing around near Arapahoe County – near Denver. More tornadoes were also spotted in Nebraska.
Outside of the twisters, the Great Plains suffered from heavy downpours and hail, with some areas experiencing an average of two months of rain in two days.
Cherry Creek Reservoir State Park in Colorado got around 10 inches on Tuesday, which left several roadways damaged, with massive holes and cracks in the asphalt.