Shocking footage captured the moment a devastating tornado swept through a small Oklahoma town, destroying several homes and leaving thousands without power.
The horrifying twister ripped through the Midwest state Wednesday night while parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Iowa were also placed under tornado watch.
Tennis-ball hail and torrential winds severely damaged several homes, while power outages affected over 3,000 people in several counties.
The severe weather front is expected to stretch through several states throughout Wednesday night and into the coming days, potentially allowing several other tornadoes to devastate the region.
The destruction comes as several other tornadoes have swept through the Midwest and South in recent weeks, where at least 26 people have died as a result of the carnage.
A terrible tornado devastated the town of Cole, Oklahoma, on Wednesday evening
Over 3,000 people in several counties were left without power after the Twister tore through the Midwest state
Tennis ball-sized hail and torrential winds destroyed several homes in the area
The National Weather Service warned that the tornado would be “large and extremely dangerous” as it swept through Cole, Oklahoma, a town of about 600 people.
The extreme weather front is expected to cause significant damage in the coming days, although it is currently mainly affecting rural areas.
The forecast center added in its warning that the tornado would bring “severe thunderstorms with the potential for very large hail.”
There remained a “risk of a few tornadoes” in the region, and “severe gusts will be possible in parts of the central states late Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night.”
Wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour were forecast as the storm system moves west to the Great Plains Wednesday night.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for residents in the storm’s path, including those in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.
Over the course of the night, destruction is expected to extend to Austin, Texas and also reach St. Louis, Missouri due to the possibility of several other isolated tornadoes.
Residents in the path of the storm are being urged to take shelter, and some report entire homes have been leveled in the destruction.
It’s currently unclear how many people were injured, but the McClain County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma said it has responded to reports of “injuries and people trapped in their shelters.”
The destruction comes after multiple tornadoes ripped through America’s Midwest and South in recent weeks, killing at least 26 people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Devastating storms destroyed homes and businesses and rendered entire neighborhoods unrecognizable.
The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Multiple tornadoes have hit the Midwest and South in recent weeks, killing 26 people. Pictured is a destroyed home in Sullivan, Indiana on April 1, 2023
Masoud Shahed-Ghaznavi pictured with his destroyed home in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 1, 2023
Last month, chilling footage captured the moment a tornado hit a Mississippi high school as the state grappled with the storm bomb.
The giant twister sped through Amory High School before sweeping through the Midwest as one of several to hit the region.
The tornado outbreak, which spawned around two dozen tornadoes, caused catastrophic damage in the area, resulting in at least 26 deaths and countless injuries.
Earlier this month, tornadoes were also reported in Alabama and Arkansas, where city officials in Little Rock say more than 2,600 buildings were damaged after being in the storm’s path.
Enormous recovery efforts were undertaken in the affected states, with fallen and splintered trees being torn to pieces by the strong winds.
Walls and windows were blown apart in the destruction, while roofs collapsed and thousands of homes and businesses fell to rubble.