Storm slams Burns
Weather service checks whether it was a tornado
Staff writer
A thunderstorm Sunday evening in Burns drew the attention of the National Weather Service in Wichita, which sent surveyors to assess whether the town’s damage was caused by straight-line winds or a tornado.
The storm also drew neighbors from around the area to help.
Monday morning, volunteers who came to help with damage descended upon the town to tackle clean-up work.
As volunteers prowled the streets picking up branches and clearing debris, community women got busy making lunch for them at the community center.
“We had a lot of limbs down,” city clerk Mary Strotkamp said.
A pole was bent over clear to the ground.
“In the park, we had one tree blown over,” she said. “One house had a service line pulled down.”
Several streets had so many branches down that the streets were impassable.
“When that wind came through, I was out on an enclosed porch, and it was strong enough to make me go inside the house,” Strotkamp said.
Meteorologist Ken Cook said weather service staff went to Burns after hearing about the amount of damage.
“We are out today surveying damage,” Cook said Monday. “Most of the area had straight line winds. Around Burns, there’s a lot of damage.”
Cook said precipitation reports in the region ranged from 0.87 inches to 2.41 inches.
Burns got 1.35 inches of rain.
“I’d say most places got around 2 inches, though,” Cook said.
Wind speeds around the area were mostly about 72 mph.
“Most wind estimates were 60 to 80,” Cook said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were higher gusts in isolated areas.”
There was some hail in there with a few of the storms.
Cook said this spring had been more typical than the last few springs in the state.