![Click to enlarge hurricane winds midwest US truck](/image/s31/630941/truck.jpg)
At least 55 reports of hurricane-force thunderstorm wind gusts over 75 mph were tracked across the Great Plains and Midwest, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, setting a one-day national record. Around 300 severe wind reports came in across the regions throughout the day, with alerts impacting at least 80 million people.
A tornado in southeastern Minnesota was the first ever reported in the state in the month of December, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. Nearly 20 tornado reports were documented Wednesday across Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.
![Click to enlarge hurricane winds midwest US tornato des moines](/image/s31/630946/61bb3f80af9c2_image.jpg)
The Midwest is experiencing unprecedented weather with extreme heat and tornado force winds. CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said "this is not December weather."
![Click to enlarge hurricane winds midwest US grain bins](/image/s31/630943/61bb3f7f09ab1_image.jpg)
The storm is forecast to taper off, with many of the severe thunderstorm watches and warnings expiring overnight.
![Click to enlarge Hurricane winds midwest US crushed semi](/image/s31/630945/61bb3f8200c03_image.jpg)
Air traffic controllers briefly evacuated at Kansas City International Airport due "to wind and the fact that it is a glass box 256 feet up in the air," according to spokesperson Joe McBride. Planes resumed departures about one hour after controllers were forced to head to safety, the airport announced.
Parts of Interstate 70 in western Kansas were shut down due to blowing dust, reduced visibility, and crashes, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.
![Click to enlarge hurricane winds midwest US car crushed tree](/image/s31/630944/61bb3f7fd3c1e_image.jpg)
With winds whipped up at an exceeding rate, fires became a danger to residents in parts of the southern Plains and Southwest.
The combination of 35 to 55 mph winds, with gusts of 75 mph, as well as low relative humidity and temperatures in the 70s and 80s were a catalyst for unseasonably dangerous circumstances. Certain areas are also facing an ongoing drought.
"Dangerous, life-threatening fire weather conditions are likely with fast moving and uncontrollable fire spread due to extreme wind and dry conditions," the Storm Prediction said Wednesday morning. It noted that this was the first time in the history of the SPC that it was forecasting an "extremely critical" fire threat in December in the southern and central Plains.
An evacuation order was placed for the town of Guymon, Oklahoma, due to one of nine wildfires in western and northwestern Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Several hundred people were told "to evacuate or be prepared to evacuate" in the city of Iowa Park, Texas, in Wichita County in the northern part of the state. Two fires in the county are ongoing.
"The fire has changed direction a couple of times," Wichita County Sheriff's Office Deputy Melvin Joyner said, adding "we're working as hard as we can to keep residents safe."
A 2,500-acre blaze is burning west of Amarillo, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported, and the agency is responding to the fires in Wichita County.
Six homes and two other structures were reported damaged in the Texas Panhandle city of Pampa, according to a city announcement. No injuries were reported.
Via CNN
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