Shocking footage captured the moment a devastating tornado swept through a small Oklahoma town, destroying several homes and leaving thousands without power.
The terrifying twister swept through the Midwest state Wednesday night, while parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Iowa have also been placed under tornado surveillance.
Tennis ball-sized hail and strong winds severely damaged several homes, while power outages affected more than 3,000 people in several counties.
The severe weather front is expected to stretch through multiple states through Wednesday night and the next few days, with several other breakaway tornadoes could devastate the region.
The destruction comes as several other tornadoes have battered the Midwest and South in recent weeks, where at least 26 people have died as a result of the carnage.
A terrifying tornado devastated the town of Cole, Oklahoma, Wednesday evening
More than 3,000 people in several counties were without power after the tornado swept through the Midwest state
Hail the size of a tennis ball and strong winds destroyed several homes in the region
The National Weather Service warned the tornado would become “big and extremely dangerous” as it swept across Cole, Oklahoma, a town of about 600 people.
The extreme weather front is expected to cause significant damage in the coming days, despite currently affecting mainly rural areas.
The forecast center added in its warning that the tornado would produce “severe thunderstorms with possible very large hail.”
It continued that there was a “risk of a few tornadoes” in the region, and “severe wind gusts will be possible in parts of the central states late Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.”
Gusts of up to 75 mph are forecast as the storm system moves west into 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.
Overnight, the devastation is expected to extend to Austin, Texas, while also reaching St. Louis, Missouri, as several other isolated tornadoes are possible.
Residents in the storm’s path are being urged to take shelter, with some reporting that entire homes have been flattened by the devastation.
It’s currently unclear how many people were injured, but Oklahoma’s McClain County Sheriff’s Office said it was responding to reports of “injuries and individuals trapped in their shelters.”
The devastation comes after multiple tornadoes swept through the American Midwest and South in recent weeks, killing at least 26 people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Destructive storms destroyed homes and businesses, leaving entire neighborhoods unrecognizable.
The dead included at least nine in a Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Multiple tornadoes have ravaged 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, haunting footage captured the moment a tornado ravaged a Mississippi high school as the state struggled to deal with the storm surge.
The massive tornado swept through Amory High School, before sweeping through the Midwest as one of many to hit the region.
The tornado outbreak, which spawned about two dozen tornadoes, caused catastrophic damage to the area, resulting in at least 26 deaths and numerous injuries.
Tornadoes were also reported early this month in Alabama and Arkansas, where Little Rock city officials say more than 2,600 buildings were damaged after being in the storm’s path.
A massive recovery effort was made in the affected states, where fallen and splintered trees were torn to shreds by the high winds.
Walls and windows were blown apart by the devastation, while roofs collapsed and thousands of homes and businesses lay in ruins.