US weather: Massive thunderstorms in US midwest bring 'as many as 40 tornadoes'

Wind gusts reach 86 mph in Iowa and Illinois residents report getting hit with hail the size of baseballs

(AccuWeather screenshot)

Powerful thunderstorms in the American midwest have unleashed dozens of tornadoes from western Texas up through Nebraska, with nearly 40 preliminary tornado reports across a large swath of the US.

That figure was issued by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Centre, with many of those tornadoes coming from two large and violent storms known as supercells.

No injuries have been reported from the multi-day storm, which started on Thursday in parts of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

Wind gusts reached 86 mph in Iowa, and Illinois residents reported getting hit with hail the size of baseballs.

A tornado was reported about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

Storms on Thursday were followed by even more powerful weather systems in central portions of the US on Friday, with areas across Texas being hit, and several large tornadoes forming in central Nebraska.

AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer said the recent storms showed there were ideal conditions for tornadoes this year.

“Tornado Alley is certainly waking up with significant severe weather,“ Mr Timmer said.