Storyhightlights
• Twister spread debris along a path up to a half-mile wide
• Nine people taken to Gothenburg Memorial Hospital
• Several vehicles blown off Interstate 80

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- A tornado ripped up farmsteads in western Nebraska and injured several people as thunderstorms rippled across the Plains.

The twister that struck late Friday spread debris along a path that was up to a half-mile wide in places, the Frontier County sheriff's office said Saturday.

In neighboring Dawson County, it followed a course about 18 miles long and came within a mile of Gothenburg, a city of about 4,000, said weather service meteorologist Scott Bryant in Hastings.

The twister was ¾ of a mile to a mile in width, said weather service meteorologist Corey King.

The violent weather destroyed a farm house about 20 miles east of Wellfleet, and damaged others in Frontier County and east of Moorefield, authorities said.

"At the farmstead I'm sitting at right now, the roof of the newly constructed building is gone," Dawson County emergency management director Brian Woldt said Saturday. "I have power lines scattered and power poles snapped in some areas."

Several vehicles were blown off Interstate 80 just west of Gothenburg, likely by straight-line wind, said Bryant.

John Johnson, chief executive officer at Gothenburg Memorial Hospital, said nine people injured in collisions or when their vehicles were blown over were brought to his emergency room. One was taken to a trauma center in Kearney and the others were treated and released.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press, CNN