Tornadoes rip through Great Plains in US

Spring storms have now set in across the Great Plains of the United States. The latest round of severe weather spawned tornadoes across five states.

Houses were destroyed and large trees uprooted as the twisters ripped through the region. According to the National Weather Service, there were two tornadoes spotted in Texas and Kansas, with further sightings in Oklahoma, Indiana and Missouri.

Warning sirens were blaring out across Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the storms battered the city. Trees were downed and hundreds left without power.

It was a similar picture in Kansas City, Missouri, where the power cuts were accompanied by flooded streets and stranded vehicles in the rising waters. Further east, even the local 911 call centre in the city of Sedalia, home to the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, lost power for a time.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Kansas state had hail the size of baseballs. Further south, the fierce wind and rain peeled back the roofs on several homes. Tens of thousands of people were without power at some stage during Tuesday and Wednesday.

The worst of the weather is easing as the rain moves east, but more storms are expected across the region by the end of the week. A developing system is currently bringing wintry showers to the Four Corner states. It is expected to bring more heavy downpours across the Southern Plains by Friday.

Additional reporting by Everton Fox