EF3 Tornado — Ford, Kansas

2019-05-17 · near Bloom, Ford, Kansas

Event narrative

The tornado moved out of Clark County at 1952 LST. One farm that received EF3 damage was unoccupied at the time as the residents left their safe spot (basement) and drove 1 1/2 miles east. They left the basement, that did not have any debris in it, on the advice of a storm chaser that was following the tornado. They (Grandparents and three grand children) were very fortunate that they were not injured, if not worse.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed in the panhandle of Oklahoma and up into southwest Kansas during the early evening along a dryline. Storms struggled to develop all afternoon due to warm air aloft but once they did form explosive growth was realized. Several long tracked and strong tornadoes occurred with the strongest storms.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4730, -100.0104)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 835976. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.