The drowning in Oklahoma happened early Wednesday when a vehicle was swept into a drainage culvert near the small town of Davenport, about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, the Highway Patrol said.
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No injuries were reported on the second day of unsafe weather in the region, and local government officers and rescue workers were making door-to-door checks on residents, the Kansas Highway patrol said.
The tornado ended up narrowly missing Chapman, passing just to the south of town. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said no one was injured.
Troopers went house to house checking on residents, but did not report any injuries or fatalities.
The tornado formed just after 7 p.m. near the Ottawa County community of Niles and stayed on the ground continuously for about an hour and a half, National Weather Service meteorologist Chad Omitt said.
Tornadoes were reported in several counties, and meteorologist Jesse Lee of the National Weather Service office in Dodge City said crews will survey the damage Wednesday.
Preliminary reports indicate at least one of those tornadoes was a half mile wide, the Associated Press reports. Forecasters say unstable air could allow tornadoes and large hail to form in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas in the late afternoon and early evening on Thursday.
Weather officials declared a tornado emergency for the city of Chapman. In Arkansas, a 13-year-old boy was found safe three hours after falling into a flooded drainage pipe.
The boy was found about two blocks from where he fell into the storm drain.
Crews are evaluating the damage Wednesday after tornadoes destroyed several homes in western Kansas as a series of severe storms swept across the Plains.
Emergency management officials in Ford County report two people were critically injured Tuesday night and taken to a hospital in Dodge City, the statement said.
A wicked storm system that spawned numerous tornadoes Tuesday brought a sobering reminder of the seasonal threat.
Several tornadoes were reported in Colorado, but the most serious damage appears to have been caused by hail. The tornado warning in Dickinson County has been extended until 8:30 p.m.
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The storm moved eastward, setting off tornado warnings in Morris and Wabaunsee counties.
