May 23 Greensburg/Havilland tornadoes

[Andrea Griffa]

I was thinking of the radar images of that day and I remember that after the Ellis tornado we moved toward South Kansas and I saw some incredible flying eagles moving to Greensburg and Havilland, so that I was frightened that Greensburg got hit by another wedge.The velocity couplet was pratically upon the city.
I spoke with some chasers and they told me that they had news about Greensburg: a monster wedge passed very near to the city and we had damage on some trailers not far from the city. Actually I was confused at that moment, I couldn't believe that another monster could hit Greensburg another time and I thought of my friends in those zones who were taking shelter immediately and who were living that nightmare once again.
The tornado did keep on moving near Havilland.
Anyway I've no report about this tornado but I heard at the radio about severe damage to trees and rural structures few kilometers from Greensburg.
Anyone knows something about, and overall if there's some video about those tornado in southern Ks?

 

[AlDanks]

I was following the local news that night and next morning. One of the local news web sites indicated the tornado lifted as it approached Greensburg and went over the town.

 

[AlDanks]

Here's a link:

http://www.augustagazette.com/archi...imated-by-tornado-2-twisters-barely-miss-town

 

[Dick McGowan]

Monitoring spotter network on our way from ditching the Ness City supercell, I think we only saw Greg Stumpf and possibly Scott Roberts on that supercell south of Greensburg, so maybe they could tell you. We also saw Mickey Ptak and Shane Adams on SN near there as well, but both said they were not there in time for the tornado south of Greensburg. In another thread on this forum, there was speculation of some individuals giving false reports to the media of Protection, KS being "completely" wiped out.

I distinctively remember the radio announcers saying, "Large and Extremely dangerous tornado 10 miles SW of Greensburg, moving NE...then 7 miles, 5...3...1..." I'm sure it was mental torture on the residents, but thankfully they were all physically okay. Joel Taylor told me they evacuated many residents out of town and when Reed and him entered, Greensburg looked like a ghost town. We intercepted the supercell about 10 miles north, which displayed a bluish tint to the powerful updraft at dusk. The picture below doesn't show very well of what looked like a white halo surrounding the updraft and anvil. The video I have shows it vividly...this was taken at 8:46 p.m. just north of Greensburg (10 mm lens).

We could never see the tornado near Haviland, and had zero visibility several times which was due to the dusty inflow screaming into it. The inflow was so strong, that in Pratt some 15 miles away, was strong enough to pull large tree limbs off of them! We followed the sup up to NE of St. John, where to the northeast of there was what appeared to be a fat cone/wedge tornado several miles away. A few miles later, damaged powerlines along with a damage path through some trees, seemed to confirm that. The supercell to the south of this one, near Medicine Lodge, was (I think) the one responsible for killing that vacationing Colorado couple, 13 miles east of Pratt. It was rated an EF-3.

A friend of mine from Greensburg told me one of the politicians there (can't recall his name attm) had just rebuilt a new home on the Commanche/Kiowa county lines, and this tornado would wipe out his farm completely. Just over a year between the last tornado...wonder what the odds are on that one?

 

[Greg Stumpf]

You can find my chase summary of that storm here.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

You can find my chase summary of that storm here.

Thanks to all! It's incredible that once again a large lowering passed upon Greensburg...
Anyway Greg don't you have some pictures, never mind if with poor quality, where you can see something like a tornado or power flashes, taken in those zones?

 

[Greg Stumpf]

Anyway Greg don't you have some pictures, never mind if with poor quality, where you can see something like a tornado or power flashes, taken in those zones?

I shot only video at Greensburg (it was pretty dark) but have not done any thing with it as of yet. It's not terribly exciting however, except for the interesting perspective of driving through Greensburg just ahead of the mesocyclone. My chase partners may have stills, but I have not seen them.

 

[Matt Hughes]

Brandon Ivey and I rolled thru Greensburg as the wall cloud passed over the town. The tornado had thankfully lifted and we watched a small brief tornado touch down a mile or two north of Greensburg. From what I understand a large tornado was on the ground as the storm tracked further north along the same path as the "Greensburg" tornado from the previous year. We were also about a mile south of the E-F3 tornado as it crossed hwy 54 later that night unfortunately taking the lives of the couple mentioned above. Below is a link to our video from that day. It was erie drving through Greensburg during the tornado warning. Usually people are out driving around or standin outside trying to get a glimpse of the storm but it was a complete ghost town! Understandable after what they have been through.

http://thestormreport.com/blog/2008/05/may-23-2008-kansas-tornadoes/

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Brandon Ivey and I rolled thru Greensburg as the wall cloud passed over the town. The tornado had thankfully lifted and we watched a small brief tornado touch down a mile or two north of Greensburg. From what I understand a large tornado was on the ground as the storm tracked further north along the same path as the "Greensburg" tornado from the previous year. We were also about a mile south of the E-F3 tornado as it crossed hwy 54 later that night unfortunately taking the lives of the couple mentioned above. Below is a link to our video from that day. It was erie drving through Greensburg during the tornado warning. Usually people are out driving around or standin outside trying to get a glimpse of the storm but it was a complete ghost town! Understandable after what they have been through.

http://thestormreport.com/blog/2008/05/may-23-2008-kansas-tornadoes/

Matt it's just unbelievable...I saw in the last seconds of the movie another clear wedge at the base of an incredible updraft that just looks like the Greensbur wedge of 2007. I'm shocked.

 

[Shane Adams]

Matt it's just unbelievable...I saw in the last seconds of the movie another clear wedge at the base of an incredible updraft that just looks like the Greensbur wedge of 2007. I'm shocked.

I only saw a few power flashes.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

I only saw a few power flashes.

Sure but I don't think this is a power flash, Shane.

 

[Shane Adams]

Sure but I don't think this is a power flash, Shane.

I don't think it's a power flash either...actually I don't know what it is.

EDIT: I see it now, in your capture. I guess the video playback was too dark or something...I never would've seen that if you hadn't posted the still...thanks. BTW, I wasn't trying to dispute the fact you saw a wedge; I simply never saw it in the YT video...the only thing I saw were the power flashes towards the end, which is why I made that comment.

FYI, I had to stare at this thing forever trying to make sure I wasn't crazy before posting my original reply to this. I only noticed the bit of road at the bottom. After a few minutes I finally saw the tornado. Eh, I'm getting old, and my eyes are probably starting to go like everything else LOL.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

I don't think it's a power flash either...actually I don't know what it is.

EDIT: I see it now, in your capture. I guess the video playback was too dark or something...I never would've seen that if you hadn't posted the still...thanks. BTW, I wasn't trying to dispute the fact you saw a wedge; I simply never saw it in the YT video...the only thing I saw were the power flashes towards the end, which is why I made that comment.

FYI, I had to stare at this thing forever trying to make sure I wasn't crazy before posting my original reply to this. I only noticed the bit of road at the bottom. After a few minutes I finally saw the tornado. Eh, I'm getting old, and my eyes are probably starting to go like everything else LOL.

No problem Shane I imagined that you didn't see the tornado Besides it looks like another picture I saw about the Greensburg tornado in 2007 but I just don't remember the author.

 

[Matt Hughes]

Yeah it was a good sized tornado. At least 1/4 mile wide I would say. To Shane: right before the power flashes there is a frozen clip that shows the size of the tornado. The power flashes were from the tornado crossing hwy 54.

Edit:Oops! I posted this before I saw page two of the thread.

 

[Greg Stumpf]

Yeah it was a good sized tornado. At least 1/4 mile wide I would say.

Where the tornado crossed Hwy 54, we measured the damage width at just over 1/2 mile. Interestingly, three weeks later (6/12), the car that got tossed was still sitting in the field about 1/4 mi north of the highway.