The National Weather Service says a large tornado missed the town of Chapman west of Topeka, Kansas by about a mile. About 20 homes were damaged or destroyed and several people suffered minor injuries.

Meteorologist Chad Omitt says the tornado formed just after 7 p.m. near the Ottawa County community of Niles. He says it stayed on the ground continuously as it moved into Dickinson County.

Omitt says it looks like “the heart” of the tornado was just about a mile south of the town of Chapman at one point. He says estimates are that the twister was a quarter- to a half-mile wide at times.

Weather service crews were expected to survey the area Thursday.

(Staff and Wire Reports)