Northeast Kansas Town Reports Tornado Damage, No Deaths

At least four tornadoes hit different counties in northeast Kansas Monday night, causing the most damage in the town of Marysville but no fatalities or serious injuries, according to preliminary reports from emergency management officials.

The most significant damage was reported in and around Marysville, where a tornado touched down about 9:50 p.m., said Bill Schwindamann, Marshall County emergency management director. A John Deere dealership and a lumber yard and truss company just west of Marysville were completely destroyed and 20 to 25 homes were damaged, including some that were flattened, he said.

Some livestock were missing and power lines were down Tuesday morning around Marysville, which is about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City near the Nebraska border.

The National Weather Service warned the county about the upcoming storm and emergency management workers were scrambling to warn residents when it hit, Schwindamann said.

“They gave us a heads up and we started setting sirens off and getting spotters out and stuff, but it was pretty much on us by then,” he said.

Tornadoes also touched down in Smith and Clay counties Monday night, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

Professional storm chasers in a specially rigged “tornado intercept vehicle” dubbed TIV2 captured video from inside a strong wedge tornado around 7:15 p.m. Monday northeast of the town of Smith Center.

Brandon Ivey and Sean Casey, who appear in the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers, captured the footage in eastern Smith County before the tornado ripped instruments from the top of the vehicle. The two said one of TIV2’s doors and the top hatch were blown open by the storm but the vehicle stayed on the ground.

Preliminary reports indicated two homes were destroyed northwest of Smith Center but no injuries were reported. The Clay County tornado touched down briefly just west of Edgar but did no substantial damage.

Another tornado in Jewell County caused significant damage to one home near Esbon but no injuries, said meteorologist Ryan Pfannkuch in the National Weather Service office in Hastings, Neb.