Tornadic Supercell - South Hutchinson, KS - May 23, 2008

Title:
Tornadic Supercell - South Hutchinson, KS - May 23, 2008

Description:
After nightfall on the evening of May 23, 2008, numerous long-track supercell thunderstorms developed over south-central Kansas, rapidly becoming tornadic. One of these cells produced an ominously well-defined hook echo on radar, headed straight for the tornado ravaged town of Greensburg, Kansas, with another tornadic cell to the east near Medicine Lodge. While the Greensburg cell did initially produce a tornado that impacted Protection, Kansas, luckily that tornado lifted before the cell reached Greensburg and the meso moved over the previously stricken town producing only minor damage. Meanwhile the eastern cell (which had started west of Medicine Lodge) was headed north-northeast towards Pratt, Kansas. This cyclic cell produced a strong tornado which crossed highway 54 just to the east of Pratt, causing two fatalities. As the cell moved on, it turned towards the northeast, paralleling highway K61 towards Hutchinson, Kansas. As the cell approached the city, spotters frequently reported a large tornado on the ground. At this time, our chase team (Michael Laca, Jim Leonard, Ray Walker, Eric Baker, Max Hagen and Mike Ratliff) was headed east on highway 50, on an intercept path, that brought us into South Hutchinson a few minutes before midnight, just as the cell arrived. We observed a strong rotational couplet on radar and, as we stopped on the side of the highway, could see a large wall cloud illuminated by the frequent lightning. At this point, sirens began blaring loudly throughout Hutchinson and we decided to move off the highway. We exited on S. Main Street and proceeded north, stopping briefly in the parking lot of a motel where, in the light of increasingly intense lightning, we spotted a very broad conical funnel just to the southwest of highway 50, with an intense precipitation core close behind. With the core rapidly approaching, we continued a few more blocks north and found some minimal shelter in a self-serve car wash. Once inside, the core quickly overtook us producing intense rainfall and winds gusting to 60-65 mph, while sirens wailed eerily in the background. Luckily for Hutchinson, the funnel likely remained aloft, since no significant damage was observed. On May 25th, our chase team surveyed the tornadic damage path from this cell, just to the east of Pratt, Kansas. Tragically, the fatalities had occurred when the tornado threw a car and its two occupants into an open field about ¼ mile to the north of the road. The mangled remains of the vehicle were still out in the field when we surveyed the area. Based on the severity of the tree damage we observed, and the distance the vehicle was thrown, our team estimated that the tornado was at least a high EF3, possibly EF4, at the time it crossed highway 54.

Author:
vmax135

Tags:
Tornado, Tornadoes, May, 23, 24, 2008, Memorial, Day, Outbreak, High, Wind, Thunderstorm, Kansas, Storm, Chase, Severe, Hutchinson, Pratt, FS, 2001, Thunderbolt, Siren, Damage, Michael, Laca, HD, HDV, Definition, Video, 1080i, 1080p, BD, Blu, Ray,