Watch a powerful tornado cross in front of a highway in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. Large hail, heavy rain and wind gusts over 70 mph have been reported throughout the region.
SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa — Dramatic footage seen live on FOX Weather @ Night showed wind gusts bringing traffic to a standstill on Interstate 29 near Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, during live storm tracking Sunday evening.
Headlights were barely visible amid the powerful wind gusts and driving rain.
Large tornado swirls near Palmer, Nebraska, Sunday, May 17, 2026.
(Scott Nicholson via Storyful / FOX Weather)
“Wow, that’s going to be 70-plus mile-an-hour wind,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari said while watching the storm live through cameras from Iowa’s Department of Transportation, just after 7:30 p.m. local time.
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“If there was ever a legitimate Severe Thunderstorm Warning that said 70 mph-plus, that is the one,” said Sarsalari.
Sarsalari noted that a tornado was confirmed by radar in the nearby city of Salix, Iowa.
Possible tornado looms near Marcus, Iowa, Sunday.
(Brian Oldenkamp / FOX Weather)
The city government announced on social media that the Fire Department was serving as a shelter for residents in need of a safe space during the storm.
On Monday, the city opened part of a local baseball field for tree debris. There was no word on the extent of any other damage or injuries.
Over the weekend, there were more than 70 Tornado Warnings and 400 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, mostly concentrated across the Central Plains and parts of the Midwest.
Large tornadoes were seen tearing across rural parts of Nebraska Sunday.
This region is once again in the bull’s-eye of severe weather Monday, including the threat of long-track, violent tornadoes over parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Iowa is under a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms.
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