A tornado has hit Jefferson but appears to have mostly avoided Sioux City, Iowa and North Sioux City, South Dakota on Friday night.
The tornado formed in Nebraska and destroyed multiple homes, according to the National Weather Service.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” said the service.
“You are in a life threatening situation. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes…Businesses and vehicles is likely and complete destruction possible. Flying debris will be deadly to people and animals. Expect trees to be uprooted or snapped.”
Tornado sirens were going off in Sioux City, South Dakota, but preliminary reports indicate that the tornado passed the city without much damage.
Derick Fabert, a meteorologist with WCIA-TV, said that the closest confirmed damage is North Sioux City, but he thinks Sioux City avoided damage, according to the radar.
At 6:52 p.m., the service said that a “mile-wide tornado” was located five miles east of Moville, South Dakota. Early witness reported indicated that the town had seen major damage. Homes were reported destroyed in the town of Pierson, and power poles were down in the town of Quimby.
A second tornado was spotted near Jefferson, S.D., about 10 miles northwest of Sioux City. Local firefighters reported considerable damage in the town, according the National Weather Service.
About 2,700 homes and business in the Sioux City area are without power–more than 500 of them are around Sloan–reported the Des Moines Register.
Officials said that a tornado hit in Woodbury County, about 20 miles south of Sioux City, and was about a mile wide. It mostly hit farmland and didn’t hit any towns.
[<a href=”http://storify.com/ZackStieber/tornado-forms-in-nebraska-oct-4″ target=”_blank”>View the story “Tornado Forms in Nebraska, Oct. 4” on Storify</a>]
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
