A massive severe weather system moved through the region during the evening of Monday, March 6, but Platte County ended up avoiding the worst.
Platte County ended up under a tornado warning from about 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., and early reports indicated a potential tornado touchdown near Platte City. However, National Weather Service damage assessments Tuesday morning showed the path of one of the confirmed tornadoes in Missouri ended up going between Trimble, Mo. and Smithville, Mo. in western Clay County.
Residents in Platte City, Weston, Camden Point and Edgerton reported various sized damaging hail. Some of the largest were golf ball size or slightly larger, causing damage to homes, barns and vehicles.
There were also reported power outages that all seemed to be cleared up by Tuesday morning.
Heavy winds knocked down smaller branches, which littered the streets in Edgerton on Tuesday morning. Broken windows were also reported at North Platte Elementary School and nearby residences in Camden Point, Mo.
Contributed photos
The hail in these photos was reported Monday, March 6 during a period of heavy thunderstorms in the area near Weston, Mo. (top) and Edgerton, Mo. (bottom).
After an abnormally warm day for the beginning of March, a line of strong thunderstorms began to develop across Kansas and Nebraska on Monday afternoon. The line of storms eventually strengthened and became severe as it reached the Missouri state line.
The line stretched from Iowa south, and by the end of Monday night, almost all of Missouri experienced a heavy thunderstorm.
The other tornado in Missouri touched down in Oak Grove, Mo., destroying homes and damaging others. More than 50 homes in the northern part of Smithville were affected with a handful deemed uninhabitable.
Another tornado was reported in Olathe, Kan. going through the Johnson County Executive Airport, ripping apart airplane hangars, flipping over planes and breaking car windows.
Two Plattsburg, Mo. residents suffered minor injuries after their home was damaged from the severe storms. The tornado and accompanying damaging storm in Clay County made its way to Trimble and Smithville and up to Plattsburg and then Lathrop, Mo.