Tornado

It's a beautiful Saturday--nothing like the weather a week ago that left much of the Oaklawn neighborhood looking like a war zone. "Some of these places are pretty bad," resident Robert Clotfelter says. Many residents are physically and financially unable to clean up the debris on their own.  Churches have brought in help, including members of a Caldwell youth group. "It's been hard," 16-year-old Sam Futhey says.  "Just been shoveling insulation. " Meanwhile others are coming on their own, knowing their help is needed.

Two security cameras in the Reading grain elevator capture the damage caused by Sunday night’s tornado in Reading, Kansas. This video was obtained from our news partners KTKA-TV in Topeka.

Tornado sirens wake up Wichitans early Friday morning. It comes after Sedgwick County dispatchers believe the overnight storms may have triggered the sirens across the city. Westar Energy reports nearly 1,000 customers are without power in Sedgwick County. Sedgwick County only saw a Severe Thunderstorm Warning overnight that expired at one o'clock Friday morning. While the warning went away, the storm remained somewhat strong with some cloud to ground lightning, rain, and some hail.

One of the country's biggest homes is under construction not too far from Wichita.  Pensmore Mansion is being built in the Ozarks between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. The home will be 72,000 square feet.  It will have 13 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms.  Locals wondered who was building such a large home.  The rumors said it was Brad Pitt, a native of Springfield.  It's not Pitt's new home.  A retired software engineer is building it.  Steve Huff and his family will call it home, but it's also an experiment.

May 21, 2011 is a date residents of Reading, Kansas will not soon forget.  One year ago, an EF-3 tornado killed one person, and destroyed or damaged half of the homes and businesses in the small Lyon County town. This weekend, the residents mark the storm's anniversary, remembering how the tornado affected their lives, and celebrating the reconstruction of Reading. As Reading residents sing the song 'Count Your Blessings' they think about their own blessings over the past year.

Two homes were heavily damaged by a tornado in Bennington Tuesday.  The tornado stayed on the ground for more than an hour. Bennington is in Ottawa County, about 14 miles north of Salina. Click here for tornado photos The good news is, there are no reports of injuries. Authorities have received reports of heavy damage to two farm houses. One is in the 500 block of north 150th and the other is near 106th and K-18.  The damage includes also includes a machine shed and barn as well as some downed utility poles.

Tejay Lovelock came all the way from Australia to keep an eye on the Kansas sky. "We've probably driven about 2,000 miles so far and we haven't seen a tornado yet. " He's spending his vacation storm chasing, joining the hundreds that hit the road in search of the perfect storm. Among them, is KWCH storm chaser Mikey Gribble. On Wednesday he was centrally stationed in a town that knows tornados all too well - Greensburg. "There were probably 20 or 30 chasers, a lot of tour vans first thing this morning, and then everyone just kind of spread out since then.

By Alana Rocha (LAKE AFTON, Kan.) Storm cleanup continues tonight for some. Downed trees, power lines and street lights make up the bulk of the damage. A family near Lake Afton in Sedgwick County found themselves the exception. The Vaughn family got a call Sunday night a tornado had damaged their home. When they got there, they saw the roof ripped off a front room. And only found more damage as they walked inside. "It could've been worse. Could've been a lot worse.

By Kim Hynes (KINGMAN COUNTY, Kan.) Digging through piles of glass and debris, 15-year-old Ashten Hall considers everything she finds a little treasure. She finds a clay dog she made, a broken string of pearls and a broken watch. It doesn't seem like much, but it's enough after losing her home to a tornado. Monday night the storm hit her home near Belmont in Kingman County. The EF2 tornado touched down minutes after she, her sister and dad took cover. "We ran down into the basement and all we had time to do was duck on the floor and stay down," she said.

For two years they've gone to class in mobile units...now Chapman students have a school to call their own. A tornado destroyed schools in Chapman back in 2008, Wednesday morning; all schools held ceremonial ribbon cuttings and let the students roam the hallways first the first time. School officials had set 2011 as the deadline to reopen the schools. During the rebuilding process staff members noted that the kids stayed strong. “I think that these students have every right to have this facility,” says Chapman high principal Kevin Suther.