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June 8
June
8, 1998 SC Kansas Severe Weather
After yesterday's long
exhausting chase, today would be an easier chase for my
chase partner Kathryn and I. We left Oklahoma City around 10 am for either NC
Oklahoma or S.Kansas. The Storm Prediction Center outlooked much of the area
with a moderate risk of severe storms and tornadoes. In the outlook, they were
focusing on the area between Salina and Emporia Ks was the most likely area
supercells and possibly damaging tornadoes would develop. Later, the SPC
would update this area for a high risk of severe storms. We planned on focusing
our attention over N. Oklahoma or S.Kansas. A strong surface low was forecast to
track from near Hays, Ks into C.Nebraska by evening. The dry line was expected
to punch vigorously into C.Kansas as a result, and would initiate supercell form-
ation over Kansas. Further south in Oklahoma, numerous outflow boundaries
coupled with the slower moving dry line were expected to focus severe storms
and possibly tornadoes by late afternoon. The cap was stronger in Oklahoma
than Kansas, but the cap was expected to weaken as the mid-level shortwave
brushed the area. Later, we would learn Oklahoma was the better play today!!
Brian Stertz and Pat
McMahon called from Salina Ks to see where we planned to
chase today. They were going to hold near Salina since the area was increased
to a high risk. We thought about possibly joining them, but we were unsure we
could make it to Salina before the storms would explode by early afternoon. We
were heading up I-35 at the time toward Wichita, and storms had not yet started
to develop. The moisture convergence analyses indicated that the area between
Great Bend and Medicine Lodge Ks was increasing dramatically. This increase
was related to the strengthening dry line which extended from west of Russell to
Dodge City Ks. When we reached Wichita, towering cumulus was bubbling
west on the dry line. Further north near Salina, Brian and Pat were watching other
towering cumulus west and southwest of Salina. Between 12:30 and 1:00 pm,
the cap was holding convection in check. The first storm in Kansas fired ahead of
the surface low northeast of Russell. Shortly after this storm developed, several
other storms exploded near Great Bend and Medicine Lodge- right where the
maximum moisture convergence value was indicated earlier!!
The Storm Prediction
Center promptly issued a tornado watch as today's storm
chase was just beginning. We near the town of Anthony when we learned of the
supercell exploding near Medicine Lodge. Brian called us and advised that he
and Pat were heading to intercept the supercell near Great Bend. At 2:30pm, we
could now see a very impressive, diffluent anvil mushrooming to the west. The
storm tower was also impressive with a vertical barrel shape. The chase was on!
We headed north on K-2 to reach our best east-west road option- U.S. 160. The
storm was tracking e-ne at 30 mph and would be tracking fairly close to the town
of Attica Ks. We reached U.S.160 and started to notice a little more of an easterly
component to the storm's motion. This would be perfect for us to intercept the
updraft region of the supercell. Brian called us again and said that the supercell
that he and Pat were chasing was starting to spin vigorously near Bushton Ks.
We assumed that our storm was doing the same, but we still couldn't see under
the base!!
We reached the town of
Attica (Harper Co.) at 2:55pm. The wall cloud was now
becoming well organized west of town. We could see the hazy outline of the wall
cloud, but did not get a good look at it until we got west of Attica. The wall cloud
was located about 5 miles w-nw of Attica and appeared to be tracking east. The
wall cloud was very pronounced and had good vertical lift and rotation visible.
We watched the wall cloud spin our direction and slowly constrict as rotation of
the wall cloud tightened. At 3:05, the RFD punched vigorously into the wall cloud
and actually caused a brief tornado(F0) about 3 miles nw of Attica. We wanted to
get ahead of the advancing hailcore, so we headed east back through Attica. We
watched the circulation reorganize after gusting out as it passed north of Attica.
The circulation passed to the north of us as well, but apparently reorganized in a
significant way. At 3:35pm, we reached the intersection of U.S. 160 and K-14. The
wall cloud was undergoing rapid changes at this time. The broad circulation was
tightening up. As a result , the entire wall cloud became a deep rotating cylinder.
We headed north on K-14 to intercept this strongly rotating wall cloud, which was
now about 3 miles southwest of the town of Harper. As we approached Harper,
golfball to baseball hail soon pounded us. The hailcore was intensifying ahead
of the strong rotation. All through the town of Harper, we were bombarded by a
large selection of hailstone sizes, most of which were in the quarter size category.
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