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By Amanda Greenwood
Associate News Editor
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Social media feeds are filled with pictures and video footage of the storms and tornadoes that have battered the South and Midwest over the last few days, causing incomprehensible damage.
Tornado watch alerts were previously in place for parts of Texas over the weekend and Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri until early Monday morning.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that “weather conditions could lead to the formation of severe storms and tornadoes” and advised those in affected areas to “be prepared.”
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Over the weekend, the tornado that ripped through parts of northern Texas destroyed homes and killed at least two people, according to The Associated Press.
Monday's tornado watches have expired at time of publishing.
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Which Areas Were Under Tornado Watches?
Parts of central and north central Texas were issued Tornado watch warnings over the weekend, which expired on Sunday, including:
- Henderson County, in central Texas
- Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Lamar, Navarro, Rains, Rockwall, and Van Zandt counties in north central Texas
The NWS also issued warnings to 34 counties across central, east central, south central, west central, and southwest parts of Missouri, which ended on Monday morning. These counties included:
- Benton, Camden, Hickory, Maries, Miller, Morgan, and Pulaski in central Missouri
- Phelps in east central Missouri
- Dent, Howell, Oregon, Shannon, and Texas counties in south central Missouri
- St. Clair and Vernon in west central Missouri
- Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Ozark, Polk, Stone, Taney, Webster, and Wright in southwest Missouri
Alongside tornado watch alerts, the following counties across western and north central Missouri were also warned they could face “severe” thunderstorms, according to the NWS, until Monday morning:
- Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb, Holt, and Platte in northwestern Missouri
- Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, and Ray in western Missouri
- Bates, Carroll, Henry, Pettis, and Saline in west central Missouri
Tornado watch alerts were in place for the following 11 counties until Monday morning, across central, northern, and northwestern parts of Oklahoma:
- Payne, in central Oklahoma
- Garfield, Grant, Kay, and Noble in northern Oklahoma
- Alfalfa, Ellis, Harper, Major, Woods, and Woodward in northwestern Oklahoma
Affected counties in the central and southern parts of Kansas, which were also under both tornado and severe thunderstorm watches until Monday morning, were:
- Allen, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson in southeastern Kansas
- Butler, Cowley, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford, and Sumner in south central Kansas
- Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Pratt in southwestern Kansas
- Ellis, Rush, Barton, Chase, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Marion, McPherson, Rice, Russell, and Saline in central Kansas
Storm and Tornado Footage Captured on Social Media
Storm chaser Ben Chernesky posted footage, clearly capturing a tornado as it made its way across the Oklahoma landscape on Monday morning.
Another storm chaser, James Wilson, managed to capture a detailed view of the formation of the tornado in Oklahoma.
Joshua O'Reilly managed to capture close-up video footage, showing the scale of a huge tornado in Oklahoma, as it whirled toward multiple buildings and trees.
According to The Associated Press, Texas authorities confirmed on Sunday that two people were killed and at least 20 families were forced to evacuate their homes, after a tornado ripped through the town of Runaway Bay in northern Texas on Saturday night.
The NWS later confirmed the tornado was rated EF‑2 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale—the strongest category on the scale is EF‑5—which measures the strength of the tornado, based on the damage it causes. Wind speeds peaked at 135 mph.
One user on X, posted devastating pictures of the damage caused.
Weather channel, AccuWeather, also posted video footage of the damage caused by the tornado, showing houses smashed into pieces, trees uprooted, and cars overturned.
How Communities Can Prepare for Future Tornadoes
The NWS urges communities that are under tornado and severe storm warnings to take action as soon as possible because extreme weather has the potential to destroy homes, force evacuations, and cause injuries or fatalities—outcomes Texas experienced over the weekend.
While under a tornado watch, the NWS advises residents to closely monitor local news and weather updates, as conditions can often rapidly escalate. They should also identify a designated safe room—such as a basement or an interior room with no windows—or a sturdy nearby building, like a church, and to have a plan to reach it quickly with any pets if a severe storm or tornado strikes.
Outlook: Will More Tornadoes Be Coming This Week?
Thankfully, the NWS's seven-day forecast shows no additional tornadoes are expected in Texas this week, with mostly warm, quiet conditions early on, followed by increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms from late Wednesday through Friday, before tapering off into the weekend.
Missouri is expected to see heavy rain and strong to possibly severe thunderstorms until Tuesday, before conditions turn cooler and drier midweek, with mostly sunny weather returning by the weekend.
In Kansas, the outlook is better as the storms overnight on Sunday should give way to cooler, breezy but mostly sunny weather this week.
Oklahoma should see cooler temperatures and increasing rain chances mid‑ to late‑week, with showers most likely Thursday and Friday before drier, sunnier weather returns on Sunday.
Update 04/27/26, 10:15 a.m. ET: This article and headline were updated to include additional information and reflect the latest changes in forecast.
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