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JOHNSON, Neb. (AP) — A suspected tornado struck the southeast Nebraska village of Johnson just after midnight Friday, damaging the small business district downtown but injuring no one.
Meanwhile, storms moving through Kansas overnight spawned at least one tornado, baseball-sized hail and 80 mph winds. The Nemaha County emergency services director, Bob Cole, said some of the downtown buildings in Johnson, Neb., were heavily damaged. But Cole said only minor damage was visible on the homes of the village's 259 residents. The village school had some roof and structural damage, he said, and its yard was covered with debris from other downtown structures. Classes were canceled for the day. A dispatcher for the sheriff's department referred calls to Cole, but she confirmed that no injuries had been reported. Confirmation of a tornado was expected later Friday. Cole said storm spotters had reported that a tornado was approaching the village, but he was awaiting reports from a National Weather Service team that was sent to check evidence on the ground. Weather Service meteorologist Scott Dergan said radar had indicated a tornado near Tecumseh, nine miles west of Johnson, just after midnight. Reports followed at 12:50 a.m. that a tornado had struck Johnson. About 50 miles farther west, power was knocked out for about two hours early Friday morning in the towns of Diller and Plymouth, affecting about 1,400 customers. A Norris Public Power District spokeswoman said high winds snapped a power pole south of a DeWitt substation. The damaging weather had moved off east, Dergan said, but the eastern part of the state was in for a wild change to snow. Flurries had already fallen in northeast Nebraska, where the forecast called for 2-4 inches — more to the east and north in Iowa and Minnesota. Omaha and much of eastern Nebraska could expect afternoon highs in the mid-40s and overnight lows down toward the freezing mark of 32, Dergan said. Kansas battered In Kansas, the National Weather Service said Friday that a tornado near Beloit downed power lines, caused some roof damage and destroyed a shed. There were reports overnight of 4.5 inch diameter hail near Selden and a wind gust of 80 miles an hour in Nicodemus. The extreme weather took place north of U.S. 36, primarily in Mitchell, Sheridan, Graham, Cloud and Washington counties. Most of the bad weather has moved into northwest Missouri, leaving some minor damage In Maryville.
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