anyone out there a storm chaser? im a big time storm chaser and i love every minute of it... i was curious if noone does this here? in western kansas we have prolly 30 ppl in my county that do it every time a storm rolls in...

i have some pretty killer pix of the f3 tornado that hit us early june..

Matt

 

i posted pix in my gallery

 

I don't chase em, but have seen a few goodies over the years. I saw part of the one that went through Keats in '93. It was wide enough that from where I was at I couldn't see the whole thing. I saw the one that went through Russell county and the Wilson lake area a number of years back. I was going west on I-70 and it looked like the whole darn cloud just dropped down to the ground. If you live in Kansas long enough you'll see em.

 

I like to go out and chase them when I can. I have found fewer here to chase then when I lived in Western and southern Kansas. The two that stand out in my book though is the one that hit Hesston and the one that hit Andover. I followed both of those into the towns as they hit. It was awesome to watch them I just wish I had the cameras working. I now carry two still cameras and a video camera in the truck at all times.

Personally I have been in 3. One hit across the street in Wichita while I was asleep in my truck out by Kellogg and Tyler rd. Then I had on hit our house out in Garden city. It took the corner of the roof off just as I went through the door. (Wife and kids had me locked out LOL). Then I had to hit the ditch and ride one out that came towards me out by Kanopolis, KS.

Started getting fascinated by storms and tornado's while I was growing up in Mineola,KS. When I was about 5 one was coming towards town and while everyone went into the shelter at grandpas shop my dad and I stood by the door and watched it come to town. After that I was hooked.

 

Rollie, I can relate to the standing in the door and watching thing. As a kid growing up on a farm in NE, Dad and I would watch the weather and look for the tornados while mom and younger siblings were in the basement. Still like to stick my head out to see what is coming. We always figured we could get back down in the hole before it hit.

 

May be showing my age but back then the towns tornado warning was Dad or Grandpa driving around town in the wrecker with the light and siren going off and using the PA to warn people. I loved to just ride with them. Even today when I hear of one close by I keep looking for Grandpa to come around the corner in the wrecker and pick me up.

 

haha, thats awsome.... im in the mood for another nado....

Matt

 

I went to pittsburg to a wedding last weekend... the poor bride and groom had to find a new location because the church and reception hall (in ST Paul) had the steeple and part of the roof blown off... It wasn't a tornado but straight line winds.

 

I`ve spotted these devils going on 15 years. 1994 saw three tornados in half hour period up in Hiawatha,(Brown County). In 1997 lost all the glass out of my `92 F-150
due to a hail storm with a tornado. Largest I`ve seen was a f-3.

 

I was in the April 99 Tornado that went thru Haysville and south Wichita. our house at the time didnt have a basement, so we went to my folk's house and ended up right in the middle of it. It was a scary ride, The house and all vehicles totaled, but the house held up just enough to keep 9 people safe.

I can live a lifetime and not wanna go thru that again.

 

Want to learn more, check out the links they have some good history and pictures of Kansas Tornado's

http://www.tornadochaser.com/torhist3.htm

http://www.weatherenthusiast.com/chases/2004_0529/

http://www.tornadochaser.com/torpics2.html

 

the third link has a picture of the tornado that took my aunts house, ill never forget june 1992.... i was a youngh boy and it was my first torndado... the town wasnt even cloudy and you could see the tornadot for like 15 miles... and it was friggin huge...

Matt

p..s the third link, plainville kansas

 

i have a story many of you might not believe... but there is a town in my county that got hit three years in a row on the same day buy tornados... this day is known as cyclone day, and for years there have been tornadoes in the county on this day, and noone screws around with it... most ppl in my county are ready on cyclone day, most stick around their basement....

here is the story, its rather long but its a good story, have fun!


C. E. Williams, of Alton, in 1932 wrote the following interesting account of a cyclone in western Kansas.

The morning of May 20, 1918, was a nice typical spring morning. But as the sun began to climb upward, the wind began to blow from the south, and by noon it was something of a gale. There was a smoky, hazy appearance in the sky, and the atmosphere grew sultry as evening drew on.

The day was the first and second anniversary of the cyclone that swooped down on the little village of Codel just over the line in Rooks Co.

This strange coincidence caused the people near the village to look on May 20 as an unlucky day.

On this particular day, we, myself and son Luther, were out on Red Cross work. We had worked the north part of the township and by evening had got to the south side. We drove up to the residence of Frank Erway and found that gentleman hoeing potatoes. As we drove up he greeted us with the


398 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

cheering remark that "this is cyclone day and it looks like we might have another one."

Well, we went home and thought nothing more about it. About eleven o'clock that night it was brought to our minds more vividly than we cared to have it. Our babe, a little less than a year old, was fretful and kept us awake, and a little after ten o'clock we were up with him and heard a terrible roar to the south of us. I remarked to the wife that there must be hail about two miles south.

Had we thought it a storm, we could have gotten the family into the cave, as we had plenty of time before it struck us, but we had never run from a storm yet and we didn't think it necessary now. All of a sudden the doors slammed shut (they were all open on account of it being so sultry) and the light was blown out. That was the first twister and it took the barn and granary and scattered the debris south. I arose and opened the doors and made a light but the roar increased in volume so that I didn't go to bed at once. Instead, wife and baby got up and came into the dining room where I was, and wife said we had better go to the cave as she thought the storm too severe to risk staying in the house. I told her that if it was a cyclone we were too late, and besides I didn't like the idea of going to the cave and leaving the children upstairs. Just then I felt the floor raise and in an instant everything was blank.

Of course it was all over in a jiffy, and when I regained consciousness I was lying on the ground with the rain pelting me on the back, and it was so dark I could not see anything only as the lightning would flash and then I could only catch a glimpse of objects for a moment.

As it happened I was in the yard about three rods from where the house stood, and headed east.

As soon as the wind died down enough so I could stand up, I began to look for some of the family. During a flash of lightning I saw Luther walking around looking for the rest of the children. He looked like a ghost as he moved slowly around in his night clothes. As the cold rain would revive one he would begin to make an effort to get up and Luther would see him and help him from under the wreckage.

There were twelve of us all piled up in a bunch in a fifteen-foot circle and we were easier found than if we had been scattered out more.

We had a brooder house dug in the ground and were piled up by it and as each one was found he was placed in it as it was cold outside in the rain.

One of the boys was pinned down in the midst of the broken lumber and he had his collar bone broken on one side and his wrist on the other side, rendering both arms useless. One little girl had her nightgown pulled up around her head and the rain had shut off the air so much that she could hardly breathe when found. After all were located and gotten in the dugout, and a few coats and quilts were found and used to wrap up in, we were quite comfortable, though wet. Soon some of the neighbors came to look for us, as they saw the house was gone, and were surprised to find no one killed. We were taken to the neighbors and the rest of the night was spent in cleaning up and picking slivers out of our scalps and getting in some dry clothing.

When daylight came we started out to see what the result of the storm was. We found the fences all down, our stock out in the fields, and our neighbors'

 

BYPATHS OF KANSAS HISTORY 399



houses down the same as ours. Soon the reports began to come in of the damage to others. Here is a list of the ones that had their houses and all other buildings destroyed: D. W. Stull, S. E. Williams, Saul Stanfield, W. H. Bales, W. R. Gregory, Jesse Gregory, Mr. Mischler, R. A. Gregory.



The following list had their barns and in some cases other buildings destroyed: D. C. Crutchfield, C. H. Stull, E. E. Gregory, J. M. Baker, B. D. Cooley, C. L. Tucker, Jesse Gregory, Elijah Smith, C. R. Bales, W. J. Hibbs, Ira Snyder, M. C. Lamm, Friends Church parsonage, Fairwest school house.



C. H. Stull was lying a corpse in his home that night when his barn was taken. Crutchfield had a large barn and some granaries completely destroyed.



None of the above persons had stock killed to amount to anything except C. E. Williams and Saul Stanfield. Stanfield's house was made into kindling. One of his matched roan horses was killed as well as two milk cows and some calves. The family escaped serious injury except a son who was bruised up quite a bit. He was in the graduating class of the Alton high school and his classmates brought his diploma and delivered it to him while he was still in bed recovering from his injuries. C. R. Bales' house was moved off the foundation about four or five rods and turned one-quarter way around. He tried to get out of the house while it was in motion and go to the cave but could not get the door open. A cement lid to his cistern filter was lifted and the cement cap of the cistern was dropped in the filter and the lid replaced without cracking it.



The W. H. Bales' home was completely destroyed, outbuildings and all. Mr. and Mrs. Bales were getting along in years and lived alone. When they saw the storm approaching they went in the cellar under the house for safety, but might have been killed or seriously injured had they not crawled under a table used to'. put jars on. When the house was taken several large rocks of the foundation fell on the table they were under and all around it. W. H. had his car in the barn and it was untouched, while the barn was a total wreck. Mrs. Bales lost an eye in the storm and it was several weeks before it was found. Her son C. R. Bales was one day walking in the wheat field north of the Bales house and he accidentally stumbled on it. As he was walking along he happened to look down at his feet and there was that eye staring up at him. He picked it up and found the glass was as good as ever, so he gave it to his mother and now she can see as well as ever.



The R. A. Gregory family saw the storm in time to get in the cave close by, and thus escaped injury, but their house and large new barn was a complete loss.



W. R. Gregory and wife lived one-quarter mile west of R. A. Gregory. They attempted to go to the cave and while passing through the kitchen were hurled to the yard with the kitchen, and W. R. had both legs broken below the knees. One was a clean break while the other was crushed and as he was getting along in years it was a long time in knitting together. A sucking colt was more fortunate. It and its mother were running in the pasture close by and the next morning it was found in the cave W. R. tried to reach, and was unhurt.



The cellar steps started west and then turned north. The colt made this turn and came out without a scratch.



At Jesse Gregory's place a feather bed was sucked into a window and





400 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY



lodged there and probably saved the house from going. The houses that were destroyed seemed to explode as all the sides were blown outward.



After the storm had spent its force, Jesse and son stepped out in the yard to listen to the roar as it swept on its way, and while in that attitude they heard something fall to the ground with a thud, just a few feet away from them. On investigating they found the object to be a lamp off a Ford car. Our car was torn to pieces and one of the lamps was gone. If the lamp was off our car it was carried one and one-half miles west and one-half mile south to Jesse's place.



The M. C. Lamm barn was blown away but left a team of horses tied to the manger unhurt. We have one of the horses now.



It is an ill wind that blows no one some good. Ira Snyder had his barn blown away but the house was not hurt. He was away at the time but hurried home when he heard of the storm. There was an unused room to the house and the cyclone opened the door and threw a new work shirt in and closed the door. Ira never found out whose shirt it was and as it fit him he wore it.



One of our boys found, when changing clothes, that a shingle nail had been driven through the skin of his shin just as you would stick a pin through a fold of cloth. He pulled it out with no bad effect.



Those who saw the storm said it looked like a man's hand with the fingers all pointing down. We know there were at least two at our place although one was enough. The first one took the barn south and the next one took the house north. The near neighbors said after the first twister went through they could see our house standing, but after the second one passed they could see the house was gone and they began to investigate.



The trend of the storm was from the southwest to the northeast, and when it left our neighborhood it seemed to raise and the next place it struck was on the river bottom where it unroofed a barn on the old Storer place. From there it raised and next came down on the north river bottom where it did some damage, but just to what extent we never knew.



Well, this is a sort of rambling account of the storm, but if I remember right I was sort of rambling at the same time the storm was.



As a destroying element it was a howling success, and I am satisfied with it and don't care for a repetition soon; if never it will be soon enough to suit yours truly. So far as I know it was the first and only real cyclone to ever strike our neighborhood and there may never be another one, but even now when the wind gets to howling we begin to get creepy and see that the way to the cave is clear. Many a time we have gone to the cave when it was unnecessary, and been laughed at for it, but we neglected to go once when we missed it by not going. We are like the Irishman who said "he would rather be a coward for five minutes than a corpse for the rest of his life."