Branches and trees were down around Mid-Missouri after storms rolled through the area on Friday, April 17, 2026. The threat of high winds and hail damage prompted the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team to issue a Weather Alert Day for the day, with most of Mid-Missouri under a tornado watch during Friday evening. Gov. Mike Kehoe had preemptively declared a state of emergency on Friday afternoon in anticipation of the severe weather.
Thousands of people lost power across the region, with particularly significant outages reported in the Lake of the Ozarks area. Strong winds affected much of Mid-Missouri, leading to widespread damage to trees, power lines, and infrastructure. In Cole County, emergency services reported downed trees and utility lines throughout the county during the height of the storm.
As a precautionary measure during the storm, a bus transporting students from a southwestern school district was directed to a safe location at the Cole County Sheriff’s Department after entering Cole County. Cole County Emergency Services personnel assisted in coordinating temporary lodging for the group following the storm. Additional damage was reported in Fulton and Hartsburg, where trees were seen down and traffic signals were damaged.
On Bluff Street in Fulton, traffic lights were damaged by the storms, and workers were seen removing fallen trees and branches from the street on Friday, April 17, 2026. Water was also seen standing on South Providence Road in Columbia near Locust Street after heavy rain passed through the area. The Stover Police Department reported that Highway 52 was closed at the city’s eastern border through Versailles due to the storm conditions.