Thunderstorm Wind — Cherokee, Kansas

2009-05-08 · near Hallowell, Cherokee, Kansas

Event narrative

A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that damaging winds impacted nearly all of Cherokee County. Widespread damage occurred in the form of downed power poles, uprooted trees, damaged structures, and damaged crops. More specifically, there were several structures that experienced roof damage while windows were blown out of both homes and automobiles. A 1000 foot transmission tower was also knocked down that was built on top of the Cherokee County court house. The Columbus High School football facilities experienced significant damage. The press box was destroyed while several power poles that lit the field were snapped or blown down. One home near Crestline experienced major structural damage. This damage appeared to of occurred from a microburst that produced a concentrated area of 90 mph winds. In Weir, the rodeo grounds and concession stand were completely destroyed, while the bath house in Scammon lost its entire roof. Several campers were also flipped over and damaged at an RV dealership in Columbus.

Wider weather episode

An intense squall line impacted extreme southeast Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks with mainly damaging winds. However, 21 tornadoes developed over southern Missouri while some large hail was observed. Due to the straight line nature of the winds, damage was widespread and intense.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.1844, -95.0613)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 173827. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.