KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A storm Friday raked Kansas with at least 17 tornadoes that destroyed several buildings and injured at least six people, including one hospitalized in serious condition in Wichita, authorities said.
Several tornadoes also touched down Saturday in northwestern Oklahoma. A twister destroyed three barns at a hog farm near Lacey in Kingfisher County, about 75 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Emergency Management Department.
No one at the farm was injured, and there were no immediate reports of injuries elsewhere — although the storm continued to pose a threat. Ooten said the hog farm was considered a complete loss.
Several other tornadoes touched down in nearby counties. Many were caught on television and appeared to dissipate within moments of touching down.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for several counties. A warning was issued before the earlier twisters.
In Kansas, Weather Service survey teams toured the area Saturday to determine the size of the twisters. Ed Berry, science operations officer in the Dodge City office, said many of the twisters appear to have been significant in size.
In Stafford County, at least five people were injured and seven homes suffered major damage, along with damage to several other structures, power lines and trees, said Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the Kansas adjutant general’s department.
Two tornadoes touched down Friday in Gove County, with at least a dozen homes sustaining major damage, said George Lies, emergency management director for Logan and Gove counties. A man also suffered minor injuries after a tornado picked up his car and blew it across Interstate 70 into a ditch, Lies said.
A twister touched down south of Quinter, went back into the clouds as it went over the town, then dropped back down on the other side, damaging four homes.
Parts of Kansas also have been hit hard by flooding, with as much as 8 inches of rain falling in a 48-hour period, said Chris Foltz, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Goodland.
About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the Weather Service. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.
Kan. twister kills Colo. couple
A Rocky Ford couple were killed Friday night by a tornado that touched down 12 miles east of Pratt, Kan.
According to a report released Saturday by the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office, Gary Whitlow, 33, and Kimberly Whitlow, 29, were in a 2006 Saturn Ion that was found “completely destroyed” Saturday about 9:10 a.m.
The car was barely visible from the road and was lying in a wheat field 150 yards north of U.S. 54.
The car was found close to an area where a tornado had blown a semi off the highway and snapped utility poles in half Friday night.
The Whitlows were pronounced dead at the scene and identified by two Pratt County coroners.
The tornado also destroyed five or six rural residences and an irrigation system, which was blown across the highway near where the Whitlows were found.
Annette Espinoza, The Denver Post
