SIOUX CITY, Iowa. — Tornadoes were spotted in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota Friday evening, with reports of injuries and considerable property damage.
Storms packing powerful winds destroyed homes in the northeast Nebraska town of Wayne, where witnesses said a tornado appeared to be 2 miles wide, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service said witnesses also reported at least two tornadoes near Sioux City, Iowa, causing some damage in Jefferson, S.D., and Moville, Iowa.
At least 15 people were being treated for injuries in Wayne after a reported tornado struck the northeast Nebraska town. Mayor Ken Chamberlain said all of the residents in town were accounted for, and none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
Witnesses reported that the tornado destroyed at least four homes and the city's softball complex. Several businesses were damaged.
Sioux City television station KTIV reported that trees around town were stripped of their bark and trees, and power lines were down. Cell phone service was not working. The station reported that Wayne State College's main campus was not affected.
In Moville, to the east of Sioux City, there were reports of pea-sized hail, according to the Sioux City Journal.
On Thursday, a supercell storm system spawned an October tornado that damaged homes in several eastern Nebraska communities and ripped through a state park, but left no one hurt, according to initial reports from officials Friday.
Tornadoes in Nebraska occur most frequently in June, but they have hit the state in October before. National Weather Service records show that 18 tornadoes were confirmed in Nebraska in October 2000, 11 in October 2001 and 10 in October 1998.
National Weather Service meteorologist Barbara Mayes said Thursday's tornado was first spotted just after 10 p.m., two miles east of Hickman in Lancaster County.
Fred and Connie Gustin told the Lincoln Journal Star they were in their home on Hickman Road when a television weather forecast caught their attention.
"When they circled Hickman, we hit the basement," Connie Gustin said.
"We just got down to the basement and heard the window break," Fred Gustin added. "It was, of course, raining like mad."
When he checked outside a few minutes later, he said it was clear that the storm had hit their neighborhood hard.
The roof and siding to the Gustins' home were damaged, but he said they were lucky compared to some of their neighbors.
At Wagon Train State Recreation Area east of Hickman, the tornado left two campers in the park heavily damaged and another partially submerged. Several homes on the west side of the lake were damaged, and three of the park's restrooms were heavily damaged or demolished.
Most areas of the park have been closed until officials can assess the damage and begin cleanup and repairs.
Lancaster County emergency manager Doug Ahlberg said at least 10 farmsteads sustained damage.
The tornado whipped past the towns of Bennet and Palmyra before dissipating. The storm that bore it kept moving east-northeast with heavy rain, hail and straight-line winds, knocking down trees in Plattsmouth — about 20 miles south of Omaha — before crossing the Missouri River into Iowa.
National Weather Service meteorologist Cathy Zapatocny said heavy rain drenched a wide swath of eastern Nebraska, including a 24-hour total of 2.88 inches at Eppley Airfield in Omaha and 3.3 inches about 2 miles east of Roca in Lancaster County. Baseball-size hail was reported north of Wilber in Saline County, she said.
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