National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Severe Thunderstorms

May 8, 2008

A low pressure system and associated cold front sliding through the region was responsible for severe thunderstorms on the afternoon of May 8. Tornado reports were received on two seperate storms as well as numerous hail reports. More information will be added to this story as it becomes available.

Radar Reflectivity 

Below is a series of Radar reflectivity images from the event. Yellow polygons indicate severe thunderstorm warnings, while red polygons indicate tornado warnings.

When the event first began, there were two main storms in the Tri-state region, one in Kit Carson county in Eastern Colorado and one over Greeley and Wichita counties in Northwest Kansas. At this point there were several reports of a tornado in Wichita county.	Eventually the Greeley/Wichita storm would split into two different storms. The Colorado storm continues to produce large hail - up to 2 inches in diameter. This radar image was from 2 PM MDT.
At this point the original Greeley/Wichita county storm has split into two distinct storms, a "right-mover" in western Wichita county, and a "left-mover" which would move over Logan and eventually over Thomas counties. This radar image is from 2:30 PM MDT.	The storm that developed over Kit Carson county was now over Wallace county, efficiently producing hail. In Sharon Springs hail was a foot deep; there were also reports of broken windows due to hail in Wallace county. This radar image is from 3 PM MDT.
Severe thunderstorms began to move further east, leaving the Tri-state region with widespread precipitation and a few non-severe thunderstorms. This radar image is from 4 PM MDT.	Showers began to diminish over the Tri-state region after 5 PM MDT. This radar image is from 5:30 PM MDT.

Pictures

The following pictures are courtesy of Anne and Pat Selfridge. The pictures were taken southeast of Tribune.

Local Storm Reports from May 8

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

0127 PM     TORNADO          7 SE TRIBUNE            38.40N 101.66W
05/08/2008                   GREELEY            KS   STORM CHASER

            REPORT RELAYED FROM WICHITA OFFICE.

0133 PM     HAIL             18 S STRATTON           39.04N 102.60W
05/08/2008  E0.75 INCH       KIT CARSON         CO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0135 PM     TORNADO          3 S SELKIRK             38.43N 101.54W
05/08/2008                   WICHITA            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SPOTTER WAS 7-8 MILES NORTH OF SELKIRK LOOKING SOUTH.

0149 PM     TORNADO          6 SSE SELKIRK           38.39N 101.50W
05/08/2008                   WICHITA            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FIRST TORNADO OBSERVED FROM 137 PM MDT TO 146 MDT MOVING
            SLOWLY TOWARD THE EAST. SECOND TORNADO DEVELOPED AT
            APPROXIMATELY 149 PM MDT

0203 PM     HAIL             16 S BURLINGTON         39.07N 102.27W
05/08/2008  E2.00 INCH       KIT CARSON         CO   TRAINED SPOTTER

0238 PM     HAIL             6 W RUSSELL SPRINGS     38.91N 101.29W
05/08/2008  E1.00 INCH       LOGAN              KS   PUBLIC

0240 PM     HAIL             10 S WALLACE            38.77N 101.59W
05/08/2008  E1.75 INCH       WALLACE            KS   PUBLIC

0250 PM     HAIL             9 NNW SHARON SPRINGS    39.01N 101.82W
05/08/2008  E0.88 INCH       WALLACE            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

0257 PM     HAIL             SHARON SPRINGS          38.89N 101.75W
05/08/2008  E1.00 INCH       WALLACE            KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0302 PM     HAIL             3 NW WALLACE            38.94N 101.63W
05/08/2008  E1.00 INCH       WALLACE            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL BREAKING WINDOWS.

0308 PM     TSTM WND DMG     SHARON SPRINGS          38.89N 101.75W
05/08/2008                   WALLACE            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            6 INCH DIAMETER BRANCHES DOWN. WITH NICKEL SIZE HAIL.

0310 PM     HAIL             3 N WINONA              39.10N 101.25W
05/08/2008  E0.75 INCH       LOGAN              KS   AMATEUR RADIO

0311 PM     TSTM WND GST     8 SSE WALLACE           38.81N 101.54W
05/08/2008  E70.00 MPH       WALLACE            KS   PUBLIC

0311 PM     TORNADO          8 S WALLACE             38.80N 101.59W
05/08/2008                   WALLACE            KS   PUBLIC

            BRIEF TORNADO REPORTED

0315 PM     TSTM WND GST     8 SSE SHARON SPRINGS    38.79N 101.70W
05/08/2008  M63.00 MPH       WALLACE            KS   MESONET

0316 PM     HAIL             7 S WALLACE             38.81N 101.59W
05/08/2008  E1.75 INCH       WALLACE            KS   PUBLIC

            VERY STRONG WINDS WITH THE HAIL...BUT UNKNOWN WIND SPEEDS


0325 PM     HAIL             SHARON SPRINGS          38.89N 101.75W
05/08/2008  U0.25 INCH       WALLACE            KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            HAIL IS 1 FOOT DEEP IN THE CITY OF SHARON SPRINGS.

0325 PM     HAIL             4 N WINONA              39.12N 101.25W
05/08/2008  E0.25 INCH       LOGAN              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL IS 2 INCHES DEEP.

0337 PM     HAIL             17 SSW LEVANT           39.15N 101.31W
05/08/2008  E0.75 INCH       THOMAS             KS   AMATEUR RADIO

0348 PM     HAIL             12 SW RUSSELL SPRINGS   38.79N 101.33W
05/08/2008  E1.75 INCH       LOGAN              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0350 PM     HAIL             13 SW RUSSELL SPRINGS   38.78N 101.35W
05/08/2008  E1.75 INCH       LOGAN              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

0440 PM     HAIL             26 S OAKLEY             38.75N 100.85W
05/08/2008  E1.75 INCH       LOGAN              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ACOMPANIED BY HEAVY RAIN. BROKEN WINDOWS DUE TO HAIL.