Watch: Tornado rips across highway in Nebraska

Tornado in Nebraska
The tornado was pictured crossing Interstate 80, northeast of Lincoln - BRYCE SHELTON

A storm chaser in Nebraska has captured the moment a massive tornado ripped across a highway on Friday. Injuries have been reported in the US Plains state.

The big twister, which was moving at about 40mph, crossed Interstate 80, northeast of Lincoln, the state capital.

Multiple tornadoes have been reported across the state but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people.

One tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, damaging hundreds of homes and other structures as the twister tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. Some injuries were reported but there were no immediate reports that anyone was killed.

A clip shared on social media appears to show that one tornado was strong enough to flip a large articulated truck onto its side.

In a clip shared online by Bryce Shelton, a videographer who records tornadoes and other storms, drivers can be seen pulling over to the side of the 80 to escape the path of the colossal twister.

In another clip by videographer Aaron Jayjack, a truck appears to have been overturned on a highway.

Photos on social media showed heavily damaged homes and shredded trees. Video showed homes with roofs stripped of shingles, in a rural area near Omaha. Law enforcement were blocking off roads in the area.

KETV-TV video showed one woman being removed from a demolished home on a stretcher in Blair, a city just north of Omaha.

Damage to a house after a tornado passed near Omaha
Damage to a house after a tornado passed near Omaha - Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP

Nebraska Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Katrina Sperl said damage is just now being reported. Taylor Wilson, a spokesperson for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said they hadn’t seen any injuries yet.

Before the tornado hit the Omaha area, three workers were injured on Friday afternoon when a tornado struck an industrial plant in Lancaster County, sheriff’s officials said in an update on the damage.

The building just northeast of the state capital of Lincoln had collapsed with about 70 employees inside and several people trapped, sheriff’s officials said. Everyone was evacuated, and three people had injuries that were considered not life-threatening, authorities said.

Officials say they also had reports of a tipped-over train near Waverly, also in Lancaster County, about 12 miles north east of Lincoln.

The Omaha Public Power District reported that nearly 10,000 customers were without power in the Omaha area.

The Weather Service also issued tornado watches across parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Forecasters warned that large hail and damaging wind gusts were possible.

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