INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Two tornadoes ripped through the Kansas City metro Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed Wednesday.
The NWS Kansas City confirmed Wednesday on X that two tornadoes touched down Tuesday in eastern Kansas City, Missouri, and Independence, Missouri.
Crews begin cleanup after tornado touches down in Independence
FOX4 spoke with a meteorologist at NWS’ Pleasant Hill office, who confirmed that the first tornado touched down at the Truman Sports Complex from 2:25 p.m. to 2:27 p.m. Tuesday.
The NWS initially said the EF rating of this tornado was unknown. However, on Thursday, the NWS said the follow-up survey results found tree damage consistent with an EF-0 tornado. The NWS’ Damage Assessment Toolkit shows that it reached wind speeds up to 80 mph.
A second tornado touched down in Independence, northeast of the Chiefs’ and Royals’ complex, from 2:35 p.m. to 2:44 p.m. Tuesday, a meteorologist at the Pleasant Hill office told FOX4.
According to the NWS’ damage assessment toolkit, it reached wind speeds up to 100 mph.
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
Tornado damage in Independence (photo: NWS)
‘It was terrifying’: Independence woman dealing with cleanup after tornado
The skies are clear now, but the damage left behind is hard to miss. Now, the long process of cleaning up begins.
“It could’ve been worse, but it’s still scary…still hard to go through,” said Tiffany Durham, Independence resident.
She’s lived in the same Independence neighborhood for nearly a decade and said she’s never experienced a storm like Tuesday’s.
“I turned up my street and you could see my tree from the end of the street,” she told FOX4. “My heart just dropped because I knew it was my tree…it was terrifying. It was just heartbreaking.”
Video taken inside Kauffman Stadium during severe storms Tuesday
Thankfully, her family is okay. But fallen trees destroyed their deck – and another damaged part of the roof.
FOX4 spoke with the NWS’s Johnathan Kurtz on Wednesday while the NWS team was out surveying the damage left behind by the tornado.
“We have seen a couple very large trees in Independence that were basically sheared off at the top and dumped over,” he told FOX4. “We’ve had some big limbs fall on some houses.
As severe weather season continues, Kurtz is reminding everyone to have multiple ways to receive weather warnings and always stay alert when severe weather blows through.
“It’s kind of chaotic, and it happens very quickly,” he said. “That’s why we try to get the warnings out as quickly as we can and make sure people have access to those warnings so they can get to shelter.”
There’s still a lot of cleanup ahead, but Durham said the community’s support has been a big help.
“The community of people and the support has been wonderful,” she told FOX4.
This is a developing story. Stay with FOX4 for the latest updates.
