Storm damage in Monett area; US-60 closes as poles and lines come down

UPDATE : They reopened US-60 during our live video. Other roads continue to be closed as power poles and lines are replaced by Ozark Electric crews. It is unknown how many lost power at the peak of outages, at sundown 1,500 remained without power. Including 500 in Barry and 500 in Lawrence County. With plans to work through the night, at 6:44 a.m. Thursday sunrise only 59 remain without power.

MONETT, Mo. (KOAM) — Severe Thunderstorms moving across the 13-county area included in the Wednesday Tornado Watch were hit directly with high winds, rain and some tornadoes. Including:

• Ottawa County, Okla.
• Newton County, Mo.
• Barry County, Mo.
• Lawrence County, Mo.

US-60 is closed through a section of Monett near Walmart as poles were snapped and power lines came down on vehicles near Chapell Drive.

We observed blown out signs, some uprooted trees in Monett along US-60.

Monett Firefighters on scene tell us they are waiting for Ozark Electric crews to arrive at US-60 and Chapell Drive. One can observe them in the distance taking care of other lines related to these on US-60.

The storms continued east towards Verona and Aurora. The National Weather Service had reports of a tornadoes in Monett and Aurora.

In the Aurora area there are some residents displaced by storm damage and the Red Cross has been requested to respond.

There are no reports of injuries.

This is a breaking news story. Watch for updates here.