KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After surveying severe weather damage in Independence, the National Weather Service office in Kansas City was able to confirm an EF1 tornado moved through the area Tuesday afternoon.
The NWS said the tornado reached peak winds of 100 mph and was 3.75 miles in length, 50 yards in width.
Touching down at 2:35 p.m., the tornado was on the ground until 2:44 p.m., moving east.
Damage reports mainly included snapped and uprooted trees, as well as lost limbs.
Several nearby neighborhoods sustained damage as well.
Wednesday morning, reporter Lily O'Shea Becker found the damage the NWS said was caused by a tornado on Berry Road near Truman Road.
When the storm originally struck, the KSHB 41 team was spread out across the city.
One of the areas KSHB 41’s Isabella Ledonne found damage was Highland Avenue.
Resident Don McMillan’s house was spared, as a tree fell just feet in front of his home.
"I looked out to see what the weather was doing and that's when it all hit," McMillan said. "Just boom, the tree came down, the wind came up and the rain kept coming down."
Ledonne also went to the Truman Sports Complex, where an EF-0 was reported.
The smaller tornado, about a mile in length, was on the ground for about three minutes and packed winds up to 80 miles per hour.
The NWS said several light objects were blown over, but those reports don't count as "official damage indicators."
When Ledonne was at the complex, she heard from Kauffman Stadium employees who were present for the storm.
"This is my eighth day at work here, and what an introduction," Camden Love said. "We were up on the top there on the seventh floor when the first line of wind and rain hit, and you could see it coming across the parking lot."
KSHB 41’s Fernanda Silva spoke with neighbors who live near S. Grand Avenue and E. 54th Terrace.
Many said they heard a large tree crack before a tree fell down. Luckily, the King family was not injured in the incident.
“It’s quite a surprise to get home and see that," Evan King said. "We know that many times during a storm, we see some branches here and there. But to see this, it is quite devastating."
The KSHB 41 morning team checked in Wednesday morning with the damaged areas Ledonne and Silva reported from Tuesday night.
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