A powerful tornado hit Branson, Missouri, wreaking havoc on this motel.
Apparently tornadoes hit so suddenly throughout the Midwest in the very early morning hours on Wednesday, that initially weather reports were reluctant to say exactly what type of storm system hit Missouri and Illinois.  What else do they suppose could have leveled an entire shopping center, homes, and taken out the power of an entire city, except a tornado - or the hand of God?  If that's what they are suggesting, it doesn't take much to convince me. 

Six people were reported dead in the small town of Harrisburg, Illinois, one of the areas hardest hit at about 5 am Wednesday.  Three people were killed in Missouri and at least three people critically injured in Harveyville, Kansas.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a 22-mile long tornado hit Branson, Missouri.  Three people were reportedly killed in Tennessee after the storm moved east.  From Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, at least 16 tornado sightings were reported from Nebraska and Kansas, across southern Missouri into Illinois and Kentucky, according to the National Weather Service.  Ninety-five tornadoes hit in January and two people were killed in separate tornadoes last month.  A devastating twister hit Joplin, Missouri last May that killed 161 people. 

The storm also hit northern Arkansas.  A wall cloud, which often produces tornadoes, was reported in Cherokee Village, where trees fell and were scattered along the streets.  Residents of Clay County reported hail the size of golf balls.

The Bible tells us, concerning the last days, that these storms will hit, "Thus saith the Lord GOD, I will even rend it with a stormy wind in My fury and there will be an overflowing shower in My anger, and great hailstones in My fury to consume it" Ezekiel 13:13.  "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not acquit the wicked; the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of His feet" Nahum 1:3.