Storm shot from Saturday night in Kansas

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Forecasters say it appears about 75-tornadoes touched down in four Great Plains states Saturday.

Greg Carbin, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said Monday most of the tornadoes were in Kansas, followed by Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska. The tornadoes hit during a 24-hour period from 7 a-m, Saturday to 7 a-m, Sunday after
forecasters warned of a “high risk” of severe weather.

At least six deaths were blamed on a storm that went through the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward and destroyed more than 100 homes and businesses. Dozens of people were injured.

Many tornadoes hit in unpopulated rural areas in Kansas and Oklahoma, and Carbin says researchers are still collecting data.

Initial observations from spotters produced an estimate of more than 100 twisters.

The National Weather Service says preliminary reports show that an EF-3 tornado struck the southeast side of Wichita this weekend.

Jim Keeney, a meteorologist with the weather service, said Sunday that the tornado that hit Wichita late Saturday has been given a preliminary ranking of EF-3 based on damage there. Another tornado that hit Ellsworth County Saturday has been rated an EF-4.

Again, no fatalities were reported in the storms in Kansas, but extensive damage was reported in Sedgwick and Rice counties. Keeney said the ratings are preliminary, and final rankings will
likely be available Monday.

The weather service says the EF Scale is used to assign a tornado a ‘rating’ based on estimated wind speeds and damage. The tornado scale ranges from EF-1 to EF-5, which is the worst.