2015 Severe Weather Round 1

Kelly Kemnitz - Wichita

8 miles SE of Stillwater, OK

Wednesday was just a taste of what's to come as we move through the spring months in Kansas. At the end of last week, I did a blog entry regarding the slow start to storm season. But as we saw yesterday, things can escalate very quickly with just the right combination of moisture, wind, and a low pressure system.

Tornado near Sand Springs - courtesy Jeff Piotrowski

Unfortunately, there was loss of life near Sand Springs, OK. The tornado will likely get a rating today when the damage assessment crews get a chance to comb through the debris. There was another tornado that touched down in Moore, OK too. It wasn't down very long, but there were some tremendous power flashes and some vehicles that were badly damaged. I have no idea why Moore, OK is such a magnet for severe storms and tornadoes. It doesn't seem fair how much they've been through in the last 10 years.

The severe weather risk basically ends for the remainder of the week. The pattern is going to change again and we will get back to some quiet weather heading into the weekend. We will have to watch for a storm to move in from the southwest during the middle of next week. Right now, the forecast models keep most of the rain and storms to our south in Oklahoma and Texas, but there's still plenty of time for things to change. Sure would be nice to get some more rain into Kansas.