Tornadoes sweep across Great Plains

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Several tornadoes dropped from a line of strong storms that moved across Kansas into Missouri on Thursday, destroying at least one home and spooking a pair of circus elephants that escaped their enclosure.

The elephants, part of a traveling circus in WaKeeney, were apparently frightened by the storm and wandered through the town after breaking loose, said Trego County Sheriff Richard Schneider.

One elephant wandered into a resident's backyard less than a mile from the Trego County Fairgrounds and was blocked off by fire trucks until its trainers could coax it onto a truck, Schneider said.

"I guess it got tired of walking around," he said.

The second elephant was tranquilized in another resident's backyard, coaxed into a truck and taken back to the circus, which was already packing up to head to the next town, Schneider said.

There were no reports of damage from the elephants, but winds and hail caused extensive roof damage in nearby Collyer, he said.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City, Mo., said there were 30 reports of tornadoes across the Midwest, with 14 of those coming after 5 p.m. Winds of up to 80 mph and large hail battered parts of Kansas, with Pawnee County reporting hail stones up to 3 inches in diameter.

A tornado briefly touched down near St. Joseph, Mo., and widespread flooding was reported in the northwest part of the state; State Highway 59 closed because of high water and officials were about to close Highway 136, according to Dan Bloom, quality assurance meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Kansas City.

Bloom said there were no reports of injuries as of 11:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service had predicted a potentially historic day of twisters and the storms were still churning late Thursday.

"This is about what we expected," Noreen Schwein, regional hydrology program leader for NWS in Kansas City, said around 9 p.m. "This is a very energetic system in the upper level and there's still a lot of support, so for the next couple of hours we still could see strong tornadic action. We're certainly not out of the woods yet."

Bloom said some of the storms were starting to wind down, but there still was potential for severe weather and eastern parts of Missouri could be hit hard on Friday.

A large tornado in Atchison County destroyed a grain bin and farm buildings before crossing the Missouri River, where it overturned tractor trailers on Interstate 29 in northwest Missouri, Schwein said.

One of two tornadoes in Clay County destroyed one home, knocked down power lines and trees, and damaged several buildings, according to Clay County Sheriff's dispatcher Cat Dallinga.

A tornado that touched down three miles southwest of Russell Springs Thursday afternoon dissipated before causing any damage, as did second tornado that touched down briefly near Preston, about seven miles northeast of Pratt.

Some roofs at the Pratt County airport were reported damaged, though it wasn't clear if the damage was caused by a tornado, according to Pratt County Emergency Preparedness. An irrigation system was also overturned in the area.

A funnel cloud was reported southeast of Seneca, Kan., and a tornado was spotted on the ground near the community of Watson in far northwestern Missouri, according to the NWS. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The first damage reports from the system included large hail about 10 miles west of Goodland, said meteorologist Scott Mentzer of the National Weather Service in Goodland. Some damage was also reported to irrigation pivots in fields 13 miles northwest of Goodland.

Golf ball-sized hail and some wind damage from 60 to 70 mph winds were also reported in Pratt County, and the roof was blown off a gas station in Doniphan County.

Wichita State University canceled its evening classes and planned to close the campus at 5 p.m. because of the expected inclement weather.

Fans at the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival in Lawrence had to take cover when a line of strong thunderstorms passed through the area around 9 p.m.

The Shawnee County Emergency Operations Center near Topeka canceled all outdoor activities and asked residents to utilize public shelters as quickly as possible in preparation for the storms. About 200 people used the shelters during the storms, which caused minor damage in the area, including downed power lines, street flooding and possible tree fires.

A strongly worded statement from the National Weather Service warned that parts of Kansas could see hail bigger than baseballs, winds of more than 80 mph and "a few strong to violent long-lived tornadoes."