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As a massive winter storm moved across the country, it may have spawned at least nine tornadoes across Oklahoma and Kansas. The National Weather Service dispatched storm survey teams to confirm whether all nine reports were actually tornadoes. If they are confirmed, it would be the first time there have been tornadoes in Oklahoma in over ten years.
"Tornadoes are rare in Oklahoma in February," AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell said. "In fact, there have only been 16 since 1980."
According to Fox Weather, the storms were so severe that debris was tossed up to 7,000 feet into the air.
Officials said that at least 12 people suffered non-critical injuries due to the storms. There have been no reports of fatalities.
In addition to tornadoes, the thunderstorms also produced hurricane-force winds between 80-100 mph. In Memphis, Texas, wind gusts of 114 mph were recorded.
As the storm moves east, it will continue to bring steady rainfall from Missouri to Pennsylvania, with isolated flash flooding caused by severe thunderstorms.
The storm could also produce dangerous conditions as it dumps snow and ice across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast.
"Rain wraps up across the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday while snow spreads into New England. Snow totals by Wednesday morning are forecast to be between 4-8 inches from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast, with locally higher amounts possible. Freezing rain accumulations potentially exceeding a tenth of an inch over parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin could cause hazardous driving conditions," the National Weather Service said.