The 49 Storm Team in Topeka says the Emporia area might see heavy weather for a while, but tornadoes are a low probability.
Matt Miller, the chief meteorologist for the ABC affiliate, said this morning that today’s storm was part of the larger system that spawned tornadoes near Liberal and across the Great Plains. But that front is mostly holding in the west, he said, so tornadoes are unlikely here unless the storms become more individualized.
“I can’t say there wouldn’t be any,” Miller said. “But that is a lower likelihood. We shouldn’t see the kind of tornado outbreak that’s been seen elsewhere.”
The Associated Press reported that in far northwest Kansas, two tornadoes touched down Wednesday night between Bird City and St. Francis in Cheyenne County. The sheriff’s department said three homes were severely damaged but no one was injured.
Sheriff’s offices in Wallace, Greeley and Sherman counties also confirmed tornado sightings but said there were no reports of significant damage.
Miller told The Gazette that not only has the front been holding, but it’s also been moving from south to north and as it develops, will probably move over the same area more than once. For this area, that could mean a chance of localized flooding and severe weather.
Thunderstorms by themselves do not constitute severe weather, Miller said, but the high winds and hail that sometimes accompany them do.
Overnight Wednesday, the Greeley County Sheriff’s Department said a tornado touched down there, damaging a shed but not much else.
The storms also spawned large hail, exceeding golf-ball size in some areas.
Heavy rains also fell Wednesday night across western Kansas, with Goodland receiving more than 1 1/2 inches overnight.
Brewster recorded almost 1 1/2 inches, and rainfall of more than 1 inch was reported in Sharon Springs, Dodge City and Hays.