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Severe Weather Outbreak Brings Tornadoes to Midwest

A powerful storm system brought severe weather to much of the Midwest. Tornados were spotted in Missouri and Texas.
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April showers bring May flowers? More like they bring severe weather. That's been the case for much of the Midwest, stretching from St. Louis to as far south as Texas.

"We got the tornado sirens going ... Oh I gotta go, I gotta go."

"Goodness it was an intense scene last night in Princeton and Collin County as Melinda McCown took cover." (Via KDFW)

"We did have reports of a funnel cloud near the Prosper area. Denton saw a lot of damage. That was from straight line winds. Also, you'll notice we had a report of a tornado by Cooper as well." (Via KXAS)

"The surveyors have declared this was an EF1 tornado ... going through the University City area ... Some neighborhoods you don't see any sign of damage, other ones you see large trees like this one that have snapped off." (Via The Weather Channel)

It's officially tornado season. A number of twisters were spotted Thursday across several states that damaged homes and cut power to some areas. So far, no injuries have been reported. (Via KSDK / Jodi Warren)

It's no surprise, though, extreme weather has seemingly kicked into high gear over the last week or so.

According to the National Weather Service, it's typical to see the first tornado warnings during mid-March to early April in the Midwest. But in some areas of Alabama, it's common to see warnings as early as January. (Via Twitter / @akrherz)

Just last week, three tornados all from the same storm ripped through northern Missouri not far from Kansas City. Homes, barns and trees were destroyed. (Via KCTV)

As for the weather expected into the weekend ... the Storm Prediction Center says Thursday's storms will move to the east, and the threat of tornadoes has gone down significantly.