LJWorld.com weblogs Lawrence Weather Watch
Posted
by Ashley Meenen
February 9, 2010 at 2 p.m.
Though it may be hard to believe, severe weather season is around the corner
It may be hard to believe the spring season is right around the corner with all of the snow and cold temperatures we've seen, but is it time to start talking about the upcoming severe weather season.
I thought it would be interesting to start off talking about the upcoming season with stories from you. Please share you worst weather and scariest weather stories in the comments below. I've also included a few facts about the 2009 Kansas severe weather season, below.
-Kansas saw the most tornadoes (21) in one day on June 15th.
-Kansas had the most tornadoes (46) during the month of June. (This is the 4th highest June on record.)
-During the 2000s, Kansas had 1,192 confirmed tornadoes, compared to 789 confirmed tornadoes in the 1990s. (Note I said confirmed, for rural areas there may be several tornadoes that are never reported due to the lack of a spotter to actually report the tornado.)
Again, please share your severe weather stories below. We will have more tornado facts and safety tips in upcoming blogs.
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Comments
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fabian_zimbabwe (anonymous) says…
Actually, a blustery spring thunderstorm (sans tornado) sounds pretty darn good right about now...
cntrygrl (anonymous) says…
I've got to agree with you, Fabian! My family is from Greensburg and so I am now absolutely terrified of Tornadoes. They never bothered me before, having grown up in Western Kansas, but my opinion has changed completely!
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
I'm from Greensburg, cntrygrl. I spent a several days there after the tornado cleaning up. It is kind of like pictures of the Grand Canyon... you can look at a picture, but nothing replaces seeing the real thing in person.
50YearResident (anonymous) says…
I thought we were in the severe weather (snow) season.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
I grew up in southwest Michigan, and remember having more tornado warnings there in a given season than I've ever experienced since moving to Kansas. While I was in my teens, a nearby small town was hit pretty hard, sending livestock into trees (among other bizarre things). A few years later, a tornado roared through downtown Kalamazoo (about 20 miles from where I lived). The damage was astounding. Office buildings would have a whole side torn off, while desks & the stuff on them stayed inside--it was like looking into a doll's house.
We've even had to run for cover several times while on week or 2-week vacations there, with uncomfortably close touchdowns.
As Ashley's statistics attest, Kansas sees a lot of tornadoes, but during the time I lived in Lawrence proper, and now that I live in the south of the county, I've been lucky enough not to have seen any close calls. I moved here the year after the Lawrence tornado that hit the Kmart & nearby trailer park, so don't remember that first hand.
One Easter, about 8 years ago, we had a warning. The storm came up very fast that day--we had the small fry outside in the sunshine, and within minutes had to gather everybody up & hit the basement. I believe that one took out a barn and some livestock near Baldwin and damaged several houses in Wellsville(?) or maybe Edgerton. I guess that would be our closest call.
I have always wanted to see a tornado, but would prefer to see it headed away from me. My husband saw one that took out Andover back in the 90s.
RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Ronaldo Ignacio) says…
Tornado smado.
I have a winter coat and a bicycle helmet.
Bring it.
Gadhelyn (anonymous) says…
I would take a nice, tornado-less spring storm over all this snow.
BABBOY (anonymous) says…
A spring storm sounds real good. The warm air and the smell of an on coming storm feels better then the cold rush of air I am going to get when I go home in a couple hours from work.
I could do without any tornado damage or injury however.. Not afraid of them and used to get all excited about seeing them when there are watches or when siren goes off. I suppose I still do get excited because they are so massive but I really just do not want anyone getting hurt or having their homes destroyed or any property for that matter.
I saw Greensberg as well (several times the months right after the Tornado). That removed a lot of my curiosity and excitement about Tornados --- again not out of fear but out of desire not to see anyone hurt like that again.
RoeDapple (anonymous) says…
Several years ago the Mrs and I stopped in the HyVee on Clinton Parkway to say hello to our daughter, a checker there while attending KU. The weather was looking very 'tornadic' when we arrived, dark and very threatening. As we walked up to the register where she was assigned, a loud rumbling from outside developed into shaking of ceiling tiles, front doors blowing in and out and a general panicked look in the faces of everyone present. As we left we discovered some damage to the exterior of the building and at least one of the refrigeration units from the top of the building had been ripped away and was laying on the ground behind the store. I believe it was later determined to be a downburst.
riverdrifter (anonymous) says…
I saw (and so did most of the town) the 1977 tornado that went north of Baldwin a couple of miles. It took out the historic Coal Creek Church south of Vinland. The twister dropped out of an isolated supercell that was moving almost due east between Baldwin & Vinland. When the sirens were sounded, folks sized up the situation real fast and headed for the best places to view it. I think it was a F-2 tornado. I had a great view of it from Signal Oak. Astoundingly, I had no camera with me. Wow (facepalm)!
To this day, when hunting mushrooms I still find debris from it in the woods, mostly roofing tin.
And I *always* have a camera with me in tornado season.
leedavid (anonymous) says…
What timeframe are we talking about here, May? June? When does spring actually start in Kansas, usually?
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
On the calendar, spring starts in March--but the tornado weather doesn't usually gear up until April, peaking in May and June.