A rare tornado outbreak occurred across northwest Kansas, southwest Nebraska, and eastern Colorado this past Tuesday, October 31, 2000. Ten tornados were reported across the area:
The following is Preliminary...
County-State-Location-Time-Rating*
Thomas - KS- 5 miles east of Mingo - 316 PM CST - F0
Wallace/Sherman - KS - 20 miles southwest of Goodland - 232 PM MST - F2
Thomas/Sheridan/Decatur - KS - 5 miles north of Rexford - 352 PM CST - F0
Sherman - KS - 5 miles south of Ruleton - 254 PM MST - F1
Sherman - KS - 3 miles north of Caruso - 301 PM MST - F0
Decatur - KS - 8-12 miles northeast of Oberlin - 438 PM CST - F0
Red Willow - NE - 4 east of Danbury - 450 PM CST - F0
Red Willow - NE - 3 miles east of Bartley - 515 PM CST - F0
Rawlins - KS - 12 miles south of Atwood - 615 PM CST - F0
* Fujita F scale rating
No deaths or injuries occurred with these tornados. However, a number of locations reported damage. The strongest tornado occurred across southwest Sherman county where farm buildings were destroyed, trees were uprooted, and debris was scattered for several miles. That tornado remained on the ground for 20 minutes with a path length of 12 miles and a width of 250 yards.
The thunderstorm that produced the most tornados began five miles east of Mingo. As the storm moved quickly northeast, it produced a family of tornados during its life. Five tornados were reported before moving into central Nebraska. It continued to produce tornados near Broken Bow, Nebraska.
Severe thunderstorms produced large hail across the area. Golfball sized hail was reported across parts of Kit Carson county in Colorado and parts of Sherman and Thomas counties in Kansas.
This tornado outbreak was produced by the combination of an unstable air mass near a warm front plus strong mid level winds. The position of the jet stream as it moved from a deep low pressure system over the southwestern United States also played an important role.
The National Weather Service (NWS), local media, trained weather spotters, and amateur radio operators all played vital roles in keeping people informed. The NWS issued 16 tornado warnings, 13 severe thunderstorm warnings, and numerous supporting statements to keep the citizens of the tri-state area informed about the dangerous weather conditions.
This is second latest tornado occurrence across the tri-state area. The latest on record occurred on November 4, 1922, across northern Yuma county in Colorado. No tornadoes have ever occurred across the tri-state area in December, January, or February. |
