This was shot by Scott Hammel, Mike Umscheid and Eric Treece, and shared with permission. The tornado touched down near Stapleton, Neb., which is north of North Platte.
It was the first tornado to touch down in February in Nebraska since records began being kept in 1950.
A precipitation map generated by the Wichita branch of the National Weather Service reflects where the tornado-producing thunderstorm that raced through central and northeast Kansas Tuesday night was at its strongest.
Meteorologists talked throughout the evening about how the storm kept “cycling” — gaining, then losing, then regaining strength.
Homeowners in the path of Tuesday night’s storms should carefully inspect their homes for signs of damage, Allstate spokeswoman Meghan O’Kelly said.
Once residents have been permitted to return to their homes, they should take the following steps:
· Look for new cracks in walls. Cracks of a quarter inch or more are signs walls may have shifted or settled. Look carefully around windows and doors, which are typically the weakest spots in a home’s construction.
· Check rooms not regularly used.
· Go outside and look for visible, new cracks in the home’s foundation. Look inside for changes in the how level the floors are. Changes could be signs of a lift in the home’s foundation.
· Inspect plumbing. Look closely around the water heater and or water softener for signs of water leaks that did not previously exist. Flush all toilets, turn on all of the water faucets, and check connecting pipes for leaks.
· In the days or weeks after a tornado, check walls and ceilings for water stains or yellowing that did not exist before. Those could indicate roof damage.
· Inspect outside gutters. Damaged gutters could cause water damage inside the home long after the actual gutter damage occurs.
A red flag warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for much of northcentral, central and southeast Kansas until 5 p.m. today.
Gusty west to northwest winds will combine with low relative humidities to produce extreme fire danger this afternoon. More than 45 counties are covered by the red flag warning, which is issued whenever the threat of dangerous grass fires reaches an extreme level.
“Any fire which starts would spread rapidly and be very difficult to extinguish,” a statement issued by the Wichita branch of the National Weather Service reports. “Conditions are expected to improve by late afternoon as winds diminish.”
West winds will be steady between 15 and 25 miles an hour, the weather service reports, with gusts reaching 35 mph.
A preliminary damage assessment of the brief but powerful tornado that struck the Wabaunsee County town of Harveyville just after 9 p.m. Tuesday has determined it was an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds between 111 and 135 miles an hour.
The tornado was on the ground for 5 miles and had a maximum width of about 150 yards, according to the Topeka branch of the National Weather Service. About 12 people were hurt – three of them critically – in the town of 267 people southwest of Topeka.
Authorities have begun assessing widespread damage in the wake of severe storms that brought at least two tornadoes, damaging winds and hail to eastern Kansas Tuesday night.
“Big event for February” in Kansas, said Robb Lawson, a meteorologist with the Wichita branch of the National Weather Service. “Good lord.”
One tornado damaged a large portion of the small Wabaunsee County town of Harveyville southwest of Topeka after sunset, and Westar officials today said the entire town is without electricity. Straight-line winds of more than 70 miles an hour felled more than two dozen utility poles in McPherson County last night, knocking out power to the entire town of Moundridge.
One person was critically injured in Labette in southeastern Kansas last night, Lawson said. The victim has been transported to a Wichita hospital for treatment. The Labette County Emergency Manager is conducting a damage assessment survey to determine whether the three-mile wide damage path was the result of a short-lived tornado or straight-line winds.
“We do have a number of customers without power” in eastern Kansas, Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig said.
That includes about 4,000 customers in southeast Kansas, she said.
Extensive damage has been reported at Strother Field in Cowley County, where winds of at least 60 miles an hour were reported at 9 p.m. The same storm system continued strengthening as it moved east and caused extensive damage in southwestern Missouri later Tuesday night. Downtown Branson was hit by either a tornado or powerful winds, authorities said, and one person died in the town of Buffalo south of Springfield.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., documented 14 tornado reports in five different states Tuesday – including the first February tornado in Nebraska since records began being kept in 1950. The first was spotted nine miles west-southwest of Gandy in western Nebraska, and a second was reported later west of Greeley in the center of the state.
At least one tornado touched down in Reno County, authorities said. It stayed on the ground for about five minutes before lifting southwest of Hutchinson.
The storms that blew through the area Tuesday night will be gone by the time the morning commute commences. Sunshine will return to the region on this Leap Day, forecasters say, with highs in the low 60s.
West winds will be in the teens, strengthening into the 20s and gusting to 30 miles an hour. Lows overnight will be in the mid-30s as winds ease to single digits.
Thursday should offer more sunshine, forecasters say, with highs near 70. Winds will be light out of the south, then shift again to the west.
For information on current conditions, go to our weather page.
A tornado warning has been issued until 8:30 p.m. for portions of Marion and Chase counties.
“The potential for a large tornado is high!” the National Weather Service warns.
The storm was located near Marion at 7:46 p.m., and was moving east at 55 miles an hour. Lincolnville, Elmdale and Hymer are in the track of the storm, which has produced golf ball hail and winds of more than 70 miles an hour.
Vehicles and a trailer were blown over earlier in the evening in Reno County, said Alex Laugeman, a meteorology intern for the weather service.
“It has gotten its act together the last half hour or so,” Laugeman said of the storm, which intensified after sunset.
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for portions of McPherson and Marion counties in central Kansas until 8:15 p.m.
The same thunderstorm that produced brief tornadoes in Reno County earlier tonight is showing signs of strengthening again and remains capable of producing a tornado, weather service officials say.
The storm was located 5 miles west of Goessel, or 14 miles southeast of McPherson, at 7:18 p.m. It was moving northeast at 60 miles an hour.
“The tornadic potential of this severe thunderstorm is once again increasing,” the weather service reported.
Among the cities threatened by this storm are Lehigh, Hillsboro, Durham, Tampa, Lincolnville, Pilsen, Ramona and Lost Spring. Marion Lake is also in the path of the storm.
A new tornado warning has been issued until 7:30 p.m. for northwest Harvey, southeast McPherson and northeast Reno counties.
A severe thunderstorm that has been producing multiple funnel clouds and short-lived tornadoes was located 6 miles west of Burrton, of 7 miles east of Hutchinson. The storm was moving northeast at 65 miles per hour.
People in the storm’s path should take appropriate precautions.