Over the weekend, a tornado wreaked havoc throughout south-central Kansas, generating winds up to 165 mph, creating a path of destruction that stretched almost 13 miles.
The main area hit by the tornado was the Wichita suburb of Andover, where it destroyed more than 1,000 homes, leaving several people injured.
The storm was rated an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, and the National Weather Service reported that it was on the ground for 21 minutes Friday evening.
In the 21 minutes the tornado touched down, 300 to 400 buildings were destroyed, and 1,074 buildings were damaged, according to Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell.
The tornado also resulted in significant power outages for residents throughout the area, with more than 15,000 customers being left in the dark.
The storm injured four people, which included two firefighters responding to a call in the town. Russell shared that the injuries were minor, but the damage was not, as he thinks the city will take years to recover.
"The city of Andover will be affected by this for years," Russell said. "We still have scars from 1991 (EF5 tornado). I'm so thankful this tornado was not as bad as that, but we will literally be doing this for years."
Power has since been restored for those affected, with less than 1,000 people still experiencing outages by Sunday morning, Evergy reported.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer explained how the storms took place.
"The storms from the afternoon through the overnight from Kansas and Nebraska to Oklahoma and Missouri were powered by an area of low pressure which took shape in central Kansas, earlier on Friday," Bauer said.
Beyond the tornadoes, storms also brought grapefruit-sized hail, which fell in Nebraska and surrounding areas.
While the damage in some places was catastrophic, no fatalities were reported from the storm. However, three college students from the University of Oklahoma were killed in a car accident returning to school after chasing storms in Kansas.
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