Tornado emergency issued for Van Buren, Fremont and Carter County in Missouri: Know details

A life-threatening situation emerged for the residents in Missouri on Friday night. A tornado emergency was issued as people were advised to take cover.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado emergency for Fremont, Carter County, and Van Buren, Missouri, as fears of an incoming violent natural disaster in the US were confirmed. “This is a life threatening situation. Seek shelter now!” the agency warned residents in the vicinity of the damaging tornado's threat to take cover.

Tornado emergency warning in Missouri. (Representational image (Unsplash))

According to the tornado emergency issued by the official NWS X page, the looming destruction exposed Van Buren and Fremont's combined population of over 2,000 residents and 2 schools to the damaging tornado. Meanwhile, a continued warning for Carter County showed that a population of 253 was potentially exposed to the impact.

Jonathan Pulley, the host of West Coast Weather on YouTube also tweeted, “Our damaging tornado outbreak is in full swing right now out east with a 🚨Tornado Emergency🚨 just issued for Carter County in southeastern Missouri (the highest level possible). An extremely dangerous tornado is in progress. Please let anyone you know out east around the central Mississippi Valley region to be very weather aware tonight.”

The new tornado emergency warning comes as Missouri is already battling severe weather. On Friday, high winds even whipped up wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma. Multiple reports of damage have since made headlines.

With strong storms taking over the Midwest, dramatic videos of powerful winds lashing at a gas station in Rolla, Missouri, surfaced online. According to Fox Weather, a clip showed heavy rain and debris hitting a vehicle, as passenger Tad Peters yelled, “We are in a tornado!”

Despite a close encounter with the twister, Peters confirmed in the Facebook post that he was uninjured. However, a nearby gas station was hit.