National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

In the early afternoon of July 28th, 2009, thunderstorms formed along a stationary front in Northeast Kansas. These storms were not classic supercell thunderstorms, but rather more ordinary single cell thunderstorms. Because these storms formed along a boundary, this adds some enhanced rotation to the lower levels of the atmosphere. This means that despite the fact that there was very little turning of the winds with height, because of the enhanced lower level turning, funnels and landspouts can form under the developing thunderstorms along these boundaries. 

A weather observer near Centralia and his wife snapped some pictures of this event, seen below. The observer reported he could see rotation all the way towards the ground, and from the looks of the last photo it does appear that a brief landspout may have touched down. No damage has been reported to the office at this time. 

Photos courtesy D. Nelson