Severe Weather Makes Early Appearance
Preliminary Event Report
28 Feb – 1 Mar 2007
 
The last day of February brought significant severe weather to eastern Kansas and northern Missouri. Tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds, and flooding were caused by a strong storm system that moved into the region from Oklahoma during the afternoon and continued through the nighttime hours.
 
The dynamics from this storm provided extreme lift for a rapid development of thunderstorms in the early evening hours of February 28th. Low level moisture was initially limited but surface low pressure and an accompanying warm front moved into the region, increasing the low level instability. This warm front provided the focusing mechanism for storms to develop in the early evening. Increasing wind shear was also a major factor as a low level jet strengthened ahead of the storm and a 150 kt upper level jet was located just to the southwest of the area. This upper level jet also provided very strong upper level divergence which added another ingredient for the severe storm development.
 
Storms initiated along the warm front in eastern Kansas in the late afternoon/early evening. The first report of severe weather in the Kansas City area was received at 616pm, as 1 inch hail fell in Overland Park, KS.
 
The “main event” was a supercell which developed in eastern Kansas and produced a tornado in Anderson County (see www.weather.gov/topeka for reports from the NWS Forecast Office in Topeka) at around 645pm. This supercell crossed into Linn County, KS around 7:30PM and produced a large and violent tornado 4 miles north of Blue Mound. This tornado was rated an EF4, and more information can be found here. One home north of Blue Mound was destroyed, with six more homes sustaining minor damage, and about a dozen outbuildings damaged or destroyed; trees and power lines were downed as well.

Below are pictures of the damage taken March 1st from Linn County, KS. The resident of the destroyed home in the first several pictures received the tornado warning more than 20 minutes in advance, took shelter his the basement, and walked away with no injuries.
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
The supercell continued to track to the northeast and produced weaker tornadoes, straight line wind damage and many reports of hail from pea-sized to golfball-sized. (See map below).
 

 Click on Image for Larger Version
 
Tornado damage, consistent with EF1 (see www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html for more information on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) occurred between Amsterdam and Adrian in Bates county. The storm continued to move northeast into Henry County and produced an EF1 tornado 3 miles southeast of Blairstown at about 915pm.  Although funnel clouds were sighted as the storm moved into southern Johnson County, MO…no further tornado damage was reported with this storm.
 
Another supercell developed later in the evening, although slightly further north from the first supercell. The first reports of severe weather with this storm were from Miami County, KS where 1 inch hail was reported. As the supercell evolved and moved to the northeast, strong winds (estimated 60 mph) were reported north of Drexel, in Cass County, MO. A funnel cloud was reported over the city of Harrisonville around 1000pm. The first touchdown of a tornado with this supercell was reported about 2 miles east of Gunn City, where a mobile home was destroyed. This tornado was rated as an EF1 on the “Enhanced Fujita” (EF) scale.
 
As the storms moved into central Missouri during the overnight hours, straight lined winds destroyed 2 airplane hangers north of Moberly in Randolph County, MO. Inside one of these hangers; a turboprop airplane was severely damaged. In addition, heavy rain fell with these storms, and numerous reports of flooding as the storms moved through east central Kansas and west central Missouri. The highest rainfall report was from downtown Kansas City, with 3.72 inches.
 
     
            Click on Image for Larger Version                                  Click on Image for Larger Version
 
 
 
 
National Weather Service staff will continue to evaluate all of the information gathered from this event and will update this page early next week. Below is a list of all severe storm reports received from Feb 29-Mar 1.
 
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
407 AM CST THU MAR 01 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0613 PM     HAIL             STANLEY                 38.85N 94.67W
02/28/2007  M1.25 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   NWS EMPLOYEE

0615 PM     HAIL             LEAWOOD                 38.91N 94.63W
02/28/2007  M0.88 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0616 PM     HAIL             LEAWOOD                 38.91N 94.63W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   PUBLIC

            135TH AND STATELINE

0616 PM     HAIL             OVERLAND PARK           38.91N 94.68W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0628 PM     HAIL             OVERLAND PARK           38.91N 94.68W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   PUBLIC

0640 PM     HAIL             OVERLAND PARK           38.91N 94.68W
02/28/2007  E0.88 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0646 PM     HAIL             SUGAR CREEK             39.14N 94.41W
02/28/2007  M0.88 INCH       JACKSON            MO   STORM CHASER

0714 PM     HAIL             ROELAND PARK            39.04N 94.64W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   AMATEUR RADIO

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT 135TH AND 18TH STREET PARKWAY

0715 PM     HAIL             KANSAS CITY             39.12N 94.55W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JACKSON            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

0715 PM     HAIL             ADRIAN                  38.40N 94.35W
02/28/2007  M1.00 INCH       BATES              MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0719 PM     HAIL             KANSAS CITY             39.12N 94.55W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JACKSON            MO   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            DIME TO PENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED

0727 PM     HAIL             1 NE LENEXA             38.97N 94.78W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0735 PM     HAIL             CENTERVILLE KS          38.22N 95.02W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       LINN               KS   CO-OP OBSERVER

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED.

0738 PM     TORNADO          4 N BLUE MOUND          38.15N 95.01W
02/28/2007                   LINN               KS   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            TWO HOUSES DESTROYED

0738 PM     TORNADO          5 N BLUE MOUND          38.16N 95.01W
02/28/2007                   LINN               KS   NWS EMPLOYEE

            HOUSE DESTROYED

0739 PM     HAIL             CLAYCOMO                39.20N 94.48W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       CLAY               MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED

0742 PM     HAIL             7 SE PARKER             38.26N 94.90W
02/28/2007  E1.75 INCH       LINN               KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0744 PM     HAIL             INDEPENDENCE            39.09N 94.35W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       JACKSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

0745 PM     TORNADO          7 SE PARKER             38.26N 94.90W
02/28/2007                   LINN               KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES AND POWER LINES REPORTED DOWN

0802 PM     TORNADO          5 NW PLEASANTON         38.23N 94.78W
02/28/2007                   LINN               KS   STORM CHASER

0812 PM     HAIL             3 E BRAYMER             39.59N 93.74W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       CARROLL            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

0814 PM     HAIL             2 SW LENEXA             38.94N 94.81W
02/28/2007  E0.88 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   PUBLIC

0814 PM     HAIL             LENEXA                  38.96N 94.79W
02/28/2007  E0.88 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            AT INTERSECTION OF I-435 AND 95TH STREET

0815 PM     HAIL             1 N AMSTERDAM           38.36N 94.59W
02/28/2007  E2.75 INCH       BATES              MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0824 PM     HAIL             OLATHE                  38.89N 94.81W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            KS   PUBLIC

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED

0825 PM     HAIL             8 W ADRIAN              38.40N 94.50W
02/28/2007  E1.75 INCH       BATES              MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ALONG 18 HIGHWAY...HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

0837 PM     TORNADO          3 W ADRIAN              38.40N 94.41W
02/28/2007                   BATES              MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STRUCTURAL DAMAGE REPORTED...ALSO TELEPHONE POLES DOWN ON
            HIGHWAY 18.

0838 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     AMSTERDAM               38.35N 94.59W
02/28/2007                   BATES              MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0852 PM     HAIL             RICHMOND                39.28N 93.97W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       RAY                MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0856 PM     HAIL             PAOLA                   38.58N 94.87W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       MIAMI              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0900 PM     HAIL             2 W BLUE SPRINGS        39.02N 94.31W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JACKSON            MO   PUBLIC

0905 PM     HAIL             INDEPENDENCE            39.09N 94.35W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JACKSON            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0907 PM     HAIL             4 NW CREIGHTON          38.54N 94.12W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       CASS               MO   PUBLIC

0908 PM     HAIL             HILLSDALE               38.67N 94.85W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       MIAMI              KS   AMATEUR RADIO

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED

0913 PM     TORNADO          3 SE BLAIRSTOWN         38.53N 93.92W
02/28/2007                   HENRY              MO   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0913 PM     HAIL             4 NW CREIGHTON          38.54N 94.12W
02/28/2007  M0.88 INCH       CASS               MO   PUBLIC

0915 PM     FLASH FLOOD      LENEXA                  38.96N 94.79W
02/28/2007                   JOHNSON            KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            WATER COVERING PORTIONS OF INTERSTATE 35 FROM 87TH STREET
            TO 75TH STREET.

0925 PM     TSTM WND GST     4 N DREXEL              38.54N 94.60W
02/28/2007  E60.00 MPH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0925 PM     TSTM WND GST     4 N DREXEL              38.54N 94.61W
02/28/2007  E60.00 MPH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0925 PM     HAIL             4 N DREXEL              38.54N 94.61W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

0936 PM     HAIL             3 W PECULIAR            38.72N 94.51W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0937 PM     HAIL             PECULIAR                38.72N 94.46W
02/28/2007  E1.75 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL LARGER THAN GOLF BALL REPORTED

0943 PM     HAIL             3 W PECULIAR            38.72N 94.51W
02/28/2007  E0.88 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0944 PM     HAIL             N HARRISONVILLE         38.66N 94.35W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0945 PM     FLASH FLOOD      SUMNER                  39.66N 93.24W
02/28/2007                   CHARITON           MO   BROADCAST MEDIA

            WATER FLOWING OVER HIGHWAY 139 EAST OF SUMNER. ESTIMATED
            WATER DEPTH OF 4 TO 5 INCHES.

0945 PM     HAIL             N PECULIAR              38.72N 94.46W
02/28/2007  M0.75 INCH       CASS               MO   PUBLIC

0948 PM     HAIL             HARRISONVILLE           38.66N 94.35W
02/28/2007  E1.75 INCH       CASS               MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            WALL CLOUD ALSO REPORTED

0950 PM     HAIL             1 SW HARRISONVILLE      38.65N 94.36W
02/28/2007  M1.25 INCH       CASS               MO   PUBLIC

0950 PM     FLASH FLOOD      2 SE KANSAS CITY        39.10N 94.53W
02/28/2007                   JACKSON            MO   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            HIGH WATER OVER 47TH AND ELMWOOD. ALSO COVERING 47TH AND
            TROOST LEADING TO THE CLOSURE OF SEVERAL ROADS.

0952 PM     HAIL             4 E RAYMORE             38.81N 94.38W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       CASS               MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL

0954 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     LEETON                  38.58N 93.70W
02/28/2007                   JOHNSON            MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

0957 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 N HARRISONVILLE       38.70N 94.35W
02/28/2007                   CASS               MO   AMATEUR RADIO
 
1005 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 E GUNN CITY           38.67N 94.15W
02/28/2007                   CASS               MO   PUBLIC

            MOBILE HOME DESTROYED

1014 PM     HAIL             1 S PITTSVILLE          38.82N 94.00W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED

1014 PM     TORNADO          1 S KINGSVILLE          38.73N 94.07W
02/28/2007                   JOHNSON            MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

1020 PM     HAIL             PITTSVILLE              38.83N 94.00W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

1035 PM     HAIL             ODESSA                  39.00N 93.95W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       LAFAYETTE          MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            40 MPH WINDS ALSO REPORTED

1039 PM     HAIL             5 N WARRENSBURG         38.83N 93.73W
02/28/2007  E1.25 INCH       JOHNSON            MO   AIRPLANE PILOT

1040 PM     HAIL             1 N WARRENSBURG         38.77N 93.73W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       JOHNSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED ALONG WITH 40 MPH
            WINDS.

1041 PM     TSTM WND GST     WARRENSBURG             38.76N 93.73W
02/28/2007  E60.00 MPH       JOHNSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

1044 PM     HAIL             WARRENSBURG             38.76N 93.73W
02/28/2007  E0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED

1044 PM     TSTM WND GST     WARRENSBURG             38.76N 93.73W
02/28/2007  E60.00 MPH       JOHNSON            MO   AMATEUR RADIO

            1-2 INCH BRANCHES DOWN.
 
1110 PM     HAIL             SWEET SPRINGS           38.97N 93.42W
02/28/2007  E1.00 INCH       SALINE             MO   CO-OP OBSERVER

1117 PM     FLASH FLOOD      GRANDVIEW               38.88N 94.52W
02/28/2007                   JACKSON            MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ALONG US-71 BETWEEN BLUE PARKWAY AND
            150TH STREET IMPASSABLE DUE TO HIGH WATER

1143 PM     FLASH FLOOD      1 NE MISSION            39.04N 94.64W
02/28/2007                   JOHNSON            KS   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            I-35 NEAR TURKEY CREEK CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER
0120 AM     TSTM WND DMG     MOBERLY                 39.42N 92.44W
03/01/2007                   RANDOLPH           MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TWO HANGERS DESTROYED...2 PARTIALLY DAMAGED AT AIRPORT
            NORTH OF CITY. KING AIR TURBOPROP AIRPLANE HEAVILY
            DAMAGED. SIGN DAMAGE OCCURRED ON NORTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN.

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