EF3 Tornado — Dickinson, Kansas

2008-06-11 · near Enterprise, Dickinson, Kansas

Event narrative

This is the first segment of a tornado that moved through 2 counties. This tornado continued northeast out of Dickinson County and dissipated shortly after entering Geary County. The tornado first touched down at a farmstead to the north-northwest of the town of Enterprise. A grain bin was destroyed, and some tree damage was observed. Damage was also noted to another farmstead where a grain bin was destroyed, as were a center pivot and several power poles. The tornado then entered Chapman on the southwest side. It was reported that 70 homes were completely destroyed, and 215 damaged. In all, three-quarters of the buildings in town sustained damage. Two churches were demolished. The town's middle school and high school were both severely damaged. Approximately 100 residents were in the locker rooms of the high school seeking shelter from the storm when the tornado struck. Trees across town were twisted and nearly stripped of their leaves and branches. For the most part, the downtown business section received only minor damage. Once outside the town, another farmstead was hit which damaged trees and outbuildings before lifting to the northeast of town. Debris from the town was littered for several miles east of the town. Dozens of individuals sustained minor injuries. Three were critically injured. One death was reported when a tree was blown onto a woman who had just put her daughter into the carseat of her vehicle. Thousands of volunteers took part in the clean-up effort over the next few weeks.

Wider weather episode

Two long lived supercells wreaked havoc across portions of north central and northeast Kansas on the night of June 11th. Three significant tornadoes touched down, caused millions of dollars in damage, killed two, and critically injured three citizens. The town of Chapman saw the most extensive damage. Approximately three-quarters of the town were damaged by the tornado that passed through. Numerous homes were demolished, as were both the middle school and high school. One death occurred in Chapman, as a result of flying debris striking a young woman while she protected her child. The most severe, but more localized damage occurred in the Miller Ranch neighborhood in Manhattan, where several homes were completely destroyed. The Soldier, Kansas tornado was responsible for the other death. A man was killed in his mobile home when it flipped several times and was found a few miles from it's original location. The unoccupied home a few hundred feet from the mobile home went virtually untouched. Thousands of citizens turned up over the next few weeks to help with the clean-up effort in both Chapman and Manhattan.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.9119, -97.1283)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 112505. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.