Strong tornado leaves damage in rural Nebraska

A strong tornado was reported in central-eastern Nebraska, damaging homes in a mostly rural area, according to preliminary reports.

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Hastings, Nebraska, issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) tornado warning for parts of Howard, Merrick and Nance counties at 6:08 p.m. local time on Sunday.

The tornado was seen between the communities of Saint Libory and Palmer before lifting, according to storm chasers who captured video of the storm as it moved through the area.

Some homes were damaged, with several appearing to have partially collapsed. Storm chaser Sarah Kassabian reported that at least two people were trapped in the basement of a home, though she said they appeared to be okay.

Officials have not released information on possible injuries or the number of structures damaged.

The NWS had previously issued an outlook placing parts of Nebraska and Iowa under an enhanced risk for severe storms, a level 3 out of 5, warning that supercells capable of producing strong tornadoes were possible.