A severe weather outbreak unleashed chaos across Iowa and Nebraska Thursday evening, with twin tornadoes targeting Essex, Iowa, and baseball-sized hail pummeling the Omaha area. The National Weather Service issued rare "tornado emergency" alerts as rotating supercells triggered airport evacuations and left trails of debris.
Eyewitness footage shows a large wedge tornado moving near Essex around:3 p.m., uprooting power poles and damaging farm structures. Simultaneously, Omaha’s Eppley Airfield activated tornado shelters, forcing passengers to huddle for minutes as storms battered the region. Storm chasers documented baseball-sized hail near Underwood and 80+ mph winds creating dust storms outside Omaha.
The NWS confirmed at least tornadoes across both states, including one near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, and another south of Randolph, Iowa. Emergency crews responded to downed power lines and structural damage in multiple counties, though no fatalities were immediately reported.
Meteorologists warned the severe threat could redevelop by Easter Sunday, particularly across the Midwest. For real-time updates, residents are urged to monitor KETV and WOWT weather radars.
(Embed: YouTube footage of Omaha tornado from Live Storms Media)
