ORRICK, Mo. (AP) - Heavy storms swept across western Missouri on Saturday evening, spawning at least one tornado that damaged hundreds of homes in one small town.
A confirmed tornado that was part of a supercell storm hit the Ray County town of Orrick on Saturday evening, said Jenni Laflin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in the Kansas City area.
The town of about 900 residents northeast of Kansas City suffered quite a bit of structural damage, including roofs blown off homes and power lines blown down, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg said.
Stosberg said late Saturday night that there were no injuries from the storm but that about 80 percent of the city was damaged, including 200 to 300 homes, three churches and a school.
He said a local police officer spotted the storm and alerted dispatchers, who sounded sirens, giving residents about a 10-minute warning.
"The system worked like it should," he said.
Crews worked to clear streets, firefighters directed residents around fallen power lines and the sound of chainsaws could be heard everywhere, the Kansas City Star reported.
Bobbie Hill told the newspaper: "We'll just get it cleaned up. We don't plan to go anywhere. We've been here 26 years."
Albert Pietrycha with the National Weather Service said there was a strong indication based on eyewitness reports and radar that a second tornado had touched down just north of Marshall, in Saline County. He said more information would be available Sunday.
There were no reports of injuries due to the Marshall storm, but fallen trees and damage to barns had been reported, Stosberg said. Crews were on the scene clearing roadways in the area Saturday night, he said.
Related:
KMBC-TV report: Orrick, Mo., tornado damage
Video of tornado at Orrick posted to YouTube by Basehunters Chasing