Weather photos
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Before heading to his basement Friday afternoon, Douglas County resident Mark Gabriel saw black clouds churning straight toward him.
When he emerged, Gabriel discovered that the storm had missed his home. Instead, it made a sharp turn northeast and hit his rental property about a quarter of a mile away.
About four miles southeast of Eudora, the rental home's windows were shattered and the porch roof ripped off. A barn was flattened. He estimated the tornado left about $70,000 in property damage.
"It was a lot closer than I thought it was. It pretty well tore things up," Gabriel said. "Now, I've got to find out if the cows are around."
An unexpected tornado touched down late Friday afternoon in Douglas County where it damaged homes, leveled barns and flattened cornfields in an approximately three-mile stretch southeast of Eudora.
As of Friday evening, eight to 10 homes and outer buildings were believed to have been damaged, Teri Smith, Douglas County emergency management director, said.
Across from Mark Gabriel's rental property, his cousin Michelle Gabriel's two barns were destroyed at 968 E. 2300 Road. Tree limbs and electric lines were down. A tree branch damaged the windshield of a semi trailer and a trampoline sat twisted in the backyard. Her home was mostly spared.
"We have some major cleanup," Michelle Gabriel said.
When the tornado warning came in, Michelle Gabriel, who works at the Eudora Post Office, called her teenage daughter urging her to take cover.
"My mom said to take shelter," Lacey said. "I was running to the Quonset when I looked up to the south and saw it spinning."
A few miles away, Brad West's horse went on the loose when the tornado plowed through a corral and a strand of trees. His horse, named Duke, eventually returned home and the family's house was safe 50 yards away.
"We're just thankful," he said.
About 4:30 p.m., all 35 of the county's sirens blared when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. Doppler radar picked up a tornado outside of Baldwin City. Along a path leading into Johnson County, the tornado lifted and dropped several times.
About 45 minutes after the first tornado warning, a second warning was issued when Doppler radar picked up a storm near Vinland. Firefighters spotted cloud rotations two miles south of Eudora. That storm never touched the ground.
No injuries were reported in Douglas County.
In nearby Johnson County, a few houses in De Soto sustained roof damage and trees were uprooted, said Nick Crossley with Johnson County Emergency Management. Among the wreckage was a restored barn at Zimmerman's Kill Creek Farm, a popular venue for private receptions.
Friday's tornadoes were not related to the weather events surrounding Hurricane Ike pounding the Gulf Coast, 6News Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Schack said.
The storms were the result of moisture from the Pacific Ocean colliding with a cold front. Along the boundary of the two converging air masses, weak cloud rotation occurred.
Douglas County was under a flood watch for much of Friday. Less rain is expected today, but Schack said with the rain-soaked ground, even a moderate shower could lead to flash flooding.
- Special Projects Reporter Christine Metz can be reached at 832-6352.
- Reporters George Diepenbrock, Mark Boyle and Elvyn Jones and photographer Richard Gwin contributed to this story.
Comments
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KUweatherman (Curtis Lange) says…
Good thing those sirens were sounded and all... Thought we took care of this in May.
sowhatnow (anonymous) says…
maybe it's too early to say, but this storm isn't even over Lawrence or even headed directly at us. really, a tornado warning for 35 minutes?
drahija (David Rahija) says…
They went off in West Lawrence near 6th and Monterey
geniusmannumber1 (anonymous) says…
Heard them near downtown.
Dejacrew423 (anonymous) says…
What about Jefferson County, should I duck and cover?
srichardson22 (anonymous) says…
The sirens went off in North Lawrence too.
jchristine2 (anonymous) says…
I didnt hear any sirens, and I am on the southeast end of town!
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/eax/That'll give you an idea of the path.Katie Tornado must be kicking herself right now. It appears she is on vacation. Back to Gary.
KUweatherman (Curtis Lange) says…
Yea, supposedly they did (GF just called me). Guess I can't hear the freaking steam whistle or the tornado sirens in this apartment, lol.
jackpot (anonymous) says…
glad we got the update. Crestline & Peterson sounded 15-20 ago
JerryStubbs (anonymous) says…
The storm is moving towards DeSoto and then towards Lake Quivera, JoCo.I heard the sirens about 15 mins ago, so some of them went off.
dannyd55 (anonymous) says…
I'm at Meadowbrook and I heard the sirens. 6 News says the tornado is on the ground in Eudora.
biggunz (anonymous) says…
Funny, I'm listening to EOC and haven't heard anything about a tornado on the ground.
ScottyMac (anonymous) says…
sowhatnow (Anonymous) says: "maybe it's too early to say, but this storm isn't even over Lawrence or even headed directly at us. really, a tornado warning for 35 minutes?"If my memory serves me correctly, many, many lives were saved in the Greensburg disaster because there was an early warning.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
Sirens sounded in Baldwin. Tornado was not headed toward Lawrence, so there's no reason sirens there should've gone off. Eudora, on the other hand... Anybody in Eudora want to weigh in? Did your sirens sound when they should?
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
sdinges (anonymous) says…
Sirens were sounding around 4:30pm in Lawrence - they woke me up from my nap.
kateku (anonymous) says…
Would you people quit complaining about the sirens going off!?!?! I'd wager a bet that you are the exact ones that threw a FIT when the sirens didn't sound last May. You can't have it both ways.http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/may/06/tornadosiren_decision_supported/
coltrane (anonymous) says…
is Sarah Palin here?
yoornotmee (anonymous) says…
I live over by LHS and heard sirens. My mom lives by Prairie Park and heard sirens. I'd rather have sirens and no tornado than tornado and no sirens.
orchid (anonymous) says…
The sirens did sound, but they didn't seem as loud as usual. (SE Lawrence) In fact, I thought it was background noise on channel 5.
nobody1793 (anonymous) says…
Isn't this the same siren they would use in an air raid? How am I to know if it's a tornado or russian bombers? Or both?
Becca (Becca Sturgeon) says…
It's nice that they decided to sound the sirens this time, even though there was no need for it. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Now, if all this rain would stop screwing with my internet connection, I'd be one happy monkey.
newfielover (anonymous) says…
i'm new to lawrence and kansas in general..how worried should i be if i live a little bit east of mass?
packs_of_wild_dogzz (anonymous) says…
Hurray...it's confirmed, sirens did in fact sound all over Lawrence. Whoopee!!!!
packs_of_wild_dogzz (anonymous) says…
NewbieWouldn't be too worried. Storm is east of Lawrence around Eudora moving NE.
Dejacrew423 (anonymous) says…
I heard 3 houses were damaged in Eudora, anyone know where?
newfielover (anonymous) says…
okay thanks..so i can go about my night now?
Dejacrew423 (anonymous) says…
Pywacket, the Eudora sirens seemed to have sounded when they should. Both my grandma and mom had taken cover. My mom said it sounded about 30- 35 minutes ago.
packs_of_wild_dogzz (anonymous) says…
Oh no, another storm brewing around Baldwin!!!!
dancemomx2 (Sheila White) says…
we're in the prairie park area and we heard the sirens. glad they sounded. i agree with everyone who says better safe than sorry. talked to sister-in-law in eudora and they heard sirens and took cover.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
i'm new to lawrence and kansas in general..how worried should i be if i live a little bit east of mass?---newfie,pm me and I'll give you some local sources for info at times like this, if you need this. happy to help. I came from california 1985. oh, and as we always say "we're all gonna die!" ***by the way, I see a lot of posters in the range of 4;35 to 5;10. unless you were using laptops not connected to a.c. power, you probably should've had computers shut off at that time, yes in lawrence I mean. right now powerlines are under stress in several parts of the county, and it really isn't pleasant when a powerline surge turns the innards of your computer into volcanic rubble. even if you have a surge protector, its just a good idea to turn off the computer! and, we're still under a very active weather system.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
current tornado warning is canceled, keep alert.
dancemomx2 (Sheila White) says…
we/re in a tornado watch until 10. hope it's just rain for the rest of the night.keep safe, everyone.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
now gnomedog is settling down, so we must be past the worst!yeah Andy, you know, there's almost never video on TV of tornadoes, idiot weathergeeks standing out bravely facing the oncoming hurricane, dodging the flying debris. you must get that video going!
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
kateku~ Who was complaining about them going off?! A few people complained that they did not go off.Taking their comments at face value, I mentioned the reported track of the tornado to reassure them that they apparently weren't in any danger (figuring the track explained the sirens not going off). But from subsequent comments, it appears all the sirens did go off and that those folks just didn't hear them.I agree with all those who believe "better safe than sorry." If the tornado is anywhere in the county, it can't hurt to sound the sirens. Then, if the tornado takes an unusual path or reverses directions, which they do on rare occasions, people can't blame the officials for taking the danger too lightly.With the warm air that moved in today, the weather is very unstable. Cells seem to be popping up everywhere.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
now in the area where the tornado(es) struck, the problem *already* is gawker traffic jams!having been in an area hit hard by the microburst couple years ago, we had the d----d gawkers then too! what a plague! Hey! you don't have to hop into your car and drive straight to where the damage is, wait for the d----d TV to show you! quit clogging the road, staring at people who are already having to cope with trouble from mother nature. don't bring your embarrassment and irritation for them to have to cope with too!
Dejacrew423 (anonymous) says…
Does anyone know where the damage in Eudora was? And no, I'm not going to go drive out and gawk, just curious.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
north and east from 2000E and 800N rds seems to be where the path started.
pimp11 (anonymous) says…
They showed this picture and heading live on Channel 4 news. Nice typo tools!!!
gccs14r (anonymous) says…
"Isn't this the same siren they would use in an air raid? How am I to know if it's a tornado or russian bombers? Or both?"Same tone, but two different patterns. A continuous tone is a weather alert. The rising-falling-rising tone is a civil defense alert. They test both on Mondays, so you can learn the difference.
misplacedcheesehead (anonymous) says…
Dummy me, I just had to move into tornado alley 26 years ago. Crap!
akt2 (anonymous) says…
The sirens in Eudora went off at least 4 different times. Maybe 5. I was shocked to hear the first round of sirens. I saw that storms were coming, but they intensified very fast. All the Eudora kids were anticipating the first home football game against DeSoto. Next Friday should be better for them. Homecoming...
BlackVelvet (anonymous) says…
kateku: Would you people quit complaining about the sirens going off!?!?! I'd wager a bet that you are the exact ones that threw a FIT when the sirens didn't sound last May. You can't have it both ways.kate, some of these folks bitch and moan regardless of what happens. no sires? they bitch. sirens? they bitch. You can't please them. you just can't.
enima18 (anonymous) says…
I saw that tornadoe south of Eudora toady. It was huge and it was scary. I have survived Huricanes Katrina and Ivan in the south during 2005 and this had nothing on them. No warning and no preperation... just hope and wait. You liberals in Lawrence need to plan for the worst and hope for the best rather than bitch and moan no matter what!
justaverage (anonymous) says…
Some of you are idiots which goes hand-in-hand with smoking too much pot! The warning system in Douglas County is county wide, not just in the city of Lawrence or at an intersection...wtf!
kateku (anonymous) says…
Py -- Sorry, I jumped the gun on jumping the complainers... I thought sowhatnow was complaining. I'll go back to just reading and not commenting.Michael, yeah, I think some people will complain just to see if it gets a rise out of people. I took the bait today. These boards do provide some comic relief.Night all, stay safe!
tanaumaga (anonymous) says…
ah, i remember 2005...it was a good year here, liberal or not.
toe (anonymous) says…
The outhouse is now mobile.
Dejacrew423 (anonymous) says…
It's too bad about Zimmerman's I've gone to many functions there. Hope it can be fixed, it's a real nice barn.
mistygreen (anonymous) says…
I have to admit I think they handled the siren situation appropriately. They initially included the city of Lawrence because this happened so quickly. After they assessed the storm then only sirens in Eudora and the effected areas were activated.