KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
Severe thunderstorms rolled through the Kansas City area on Monday, spawning at least one brief tornado touchdown that damaged homes and downed fences and tree limbs.
The National Weather Service said on Twitter that law enforcement reported a tornado had touched down in rural southeast Johnson County south of Overland Park, Kansas.
“I saw the cloud beginning to twirl, then I saw a funnel form,” said Dewey Fry, who lives near 191st and Antioch.
The Johnson County, Kansas, emergency managers said about 20 homes had roofing and siding damage. Homeowners reported minor structural damage and other debris on the ground.
“I could hear the hail in the downstairs window, and then I felt the whole porch move. The attic (on the back side), I think is completely torn off,” said Rita McGee, whose home took much of the damage in the 191st and Antioch neighborhood.
After the storm, friends and neighbors helped cleaned up where they could. Some spent hours picking up debris and comforting those who lost parts of their homes.
“This can all be replaced here, but people’s lives can’t be,” said Fry.
The National Weather Service issued the first of several warnings in the Kansas City area shortly before 4 p.m. after radar indicated rotation in the clouds.
According to the National Weather Service and First Alert chief meteorologist Bryan Busby, the severe weather threat has ended in the Kansas City metro area.
by Jackson Kurtz (2021, Mar 15) KMBC
