It was one of many tornadoes that landed in Kansas, according to Gov. Laura Kelly, who declared a state of emergency.
“We’ve learned from past experience that we can’t wait for the storm to hit before we react,” Kelly said. “By taking these steps early, we are able to respond more quickly when counties ask for help.
Andover City Administrator Jennifer McColand said the tornado caused significant damage to a YMCA community center.
“We know that several houses and cars were damaged,” she told CNN in a telephone interview. “The biggest struggle right now is to clear the roads.”
Employees and customers at Braum’s ice cream and dairy shop hid in the bathroom as the tornado passed by, which cut off their electricity.
“We could see it right across from our business,” said Sierra Dobby, a store manager. “It was pretty scary. I work with a bunch of kids and I had to take them to safety.”
Law enforcement officials conducted door-to-door inspections of Andover residents, according to Chad Crittenden, a spokesman for the Kansas Highway Patrol.
“We are not sure about the amount of damage, emergency teams are responding,” the police department said on Facebook.
Andover is a town in Butler County, located about 14 miles east of Wichita.
According to PowerOutage.us, at 12:05 p.m., ET had more than 20,000 homes and businesses without electricity in Kansas on Saturday.
A total of 15 tornadoes – 14 in Kansas or Nebraska – were reported Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Forecasting Center. The other tornado was in Florida, the center said.
In addition, there are more than 70 reports of wind damage and more than 50 reports of hail.
In Enterprise, Kansas, there was hail up to four inches in diameter.
Woe from the land of the West
Meanwhile, the West is trapped in one of the worst droughts in decades, and the fire season not only started early, but also set records.
More than a million acres have been burned since January, well above the annual average of about 632,000 acres. New Mexico has been particularly hard hit by five major fires currently burning, and the forecast for the next few days offers no chance of a break.
New Mexico has already reached its annual level of fire activity and it is only April.
“Our season started earlier than in the past,” said Andrew Church, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service from the Albuquerque office.
“Due to climate change and the mega-drought in the western United States, there is simply no more soil moisture,” he said.
Chad Myers, Monica Garrett, Hailey Brink, Paradise Afshar, Caroline Kuchera, Leslie Perot and Rebecca Rhys contributed to this report.
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