Tornado watches issued for Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri

Tornado watch alerts are in place for parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri until early Monday morning, as the National Weather Service (NWS) warns that “weather conditions could lead to the formation of severe storms and tornadoes” and advises those in affected areas to “be prepared.” 

A tornado ripped through parts of northern Texas over the weekend, destroying homes and killing at least two people, according to The Associated Press. 

Which Areas Should Prepare for Tornadoes?

The NWS has issued warnings to 34 counties across central, east central, south central, west central, and southwest parts of Missouri, advising residents to prepare for the possibility of tornadoes. These counties include:

• 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 could also face “severe” thunderstorms, according to the NWS:

• 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 are in place for the following 11 counties 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 are also under both tornado and severe thunderstorm watches until Monday morning, are:

• 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 

The map below shows how these severe storms and possible tornadoes are tracking across the country.

How To Prepare for a Tornado 

The NWS is urging communities under tornado and severe storm warnings to take action now, warning that extreme weather has the potential to destroy homes, force evacuations, and cause injuries or fatalities—outcomes Texas experienced over the weekend.

According to The Associated Press, Texas authorities confirmed on Sunday that two people were killed and at least 20 families have been forced to evacuate their homes, after a tornado tore 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.

The NWS is advising residents to closely monitor local news and weather updates, warning that conditions could 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? 

At the time of publishing, the tornado and severe storm watch alerts are due to expire early on Monday morning, but according to the NWS’s seven-day forecast, 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.