The Storm Prediction Center has shifted the moderate risk zone for severe weather today just a bit west from overnight. The boundaries of the moderate extend from Stafford to Isabel to Aetna on the east to Garden City in the southwest, Brewster in the northwest and Smith Center in northcentral Kansas.
Larry Ruthi, meteorologist-in-charge of the Dodge City branch of the National Weather Service, said Ford, Hodgeman, Ness and Rush counties are particularly at risk for tornadoes tonight, along with Pawnee, Edwards and Kiowa counties. The storms are most likely to develop after 7 p.m., he said.
That means folks in Dodge City, Jetmore, Ness City, LaCrosse, Larned, Kinsley and Greensburg - yes, Greensburg - better be prepared to take shelter.
The Storm Prediction Center warns that strong, long-lived tornadoes are possible in that region today.
“This will be our best opportunity for tornadoes in southwest Kansas so far this year,” Ruthi said. “A lot of things are coming together.”
Large hail can be expected with supercells that develop, too.