Tornado Strikes in Neb.; Wild Weather Hitting Across US - East Idaho News
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Tornado Strikes in Neb.; Wild Weather Hitting Across US

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GETTY N 100413 Tornado?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1380939180354iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A tornado in northeast Nebraska is reported to have caused extensive damage in Wayne County. The twister apparently formed in the nearby town of Stanton.

Denise Schneider saw the rotations and a tail forming from the window at her job at a general store in Stanton. The tornado was moving away from her as another witness came in to her store with news of a touch down.

“It had hit the ground, which is only about — I’d say a mile from here,” she said. “And then it went to Wayne County, and it destroyed a lot of that.”

Though sirens never sounded to warn residents, Schneider says Stanton remained under a tornado warning as the twister blew through the area.

Residents in Wayne County hunkered down in emergency crawl spaces in their homes.  Dr. Randy Bertolas, a professor at Wayne State College watched the tornado’s activity on the internet before ushering his family into a safe shelter at their home.

“We got downstairs …followed our emergency plan, got into a crawl space, brought our AM radio and computer down there,” he said.

Bertolas said he and his family were able to use the computer to watch the storm until his home lost power.

“…[A]nd then we heard loud hail and the rain. And then everything got quiet. And then we started to hear the sirens,” he said, describing the storm.

Meanwhile, a blizzard is slamming South Dakota, while Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida declare states of emergency as tropical storm Karen approaches.

 

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