Tornadoes Are More Powerful Than We Realize

Severe thunderstorms broke out Wednesday across parts of the Plains and Midwest as a multi-day severe weather event continued to unfold. Large and destructive hail was the biggest problem, but damaging winds, flash flooding and a few tornadoes were also reported.

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(FORECASTS: Severe Weather Outbreak This Week | TOR:CON Tornado Forecast)

Here's what you need to know:

• A tornado was confirmed outside Hammon, Oklahoma, in a rural area.
• Storm spotters reported brief tornado touchdowns near Garden Plain, Goddard and Andale.
• A tornado was spotted near the Kansas/Oklahoma state line earlier this evening. 
• A 75-year-old Hendricks County, Indiana, woman was killed after falling into a stream. She was clearing debris from a flooded ditch. 
• A tornado touched down in Comanche County, Kansas. Minutes later the same storm spawned another tornado, which lasted 3 to 5 minutes, in rural Barber County, Kansas.
• Five people were injured after a Tulsa school bus rolled off Highway 75 in Oklahoma. Weather and speeding appear to be factors.
• A University of Dayton student is in serious condition after being struck by lightning on campus.
• A severe thunderstorm caused significant damage in Potosi, Missouri, between 3:30 and 4 p.m. CDT. Some buildings lost roofs in the storm. There was a report of a possible tornado in the area, but there are no further details and no photos of the purported tornado.
• Earlier severe thunderstorms damaged outbuildings and brought widespread power outages around Rushville, Indiana, according to WTHR-TV and National Weather Service reports.
• Grapefruit-size hail was reported around Sullivan, Missouri, around 2:30 p.m. CDT. There are reports of smashed car windshields and damage to homes. Hail up to the size of softballs struck Farmington, Missouri, around 4:45 p.m.
• The strongest directly measured thunderstorm wind gust today has been 81.9 mph at a Texas Tech Mesonet observation site in Sundown, Texas, early this evening. Estimated gusts up to 80 mph were reported with mid-afternoon storms in parts of southeast Kansas.

(MORE: View National Interactive Radar Map | Difference Between a Watch and a Warning)

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(PHOTO/VIDEO GALLERIES: Severe | Storms)