Isolated storms Saturday afternoon caused all sorts of headaches in northeast Coffey County.
Hail 3 to 4 inches in diameter, or from teacup to bigger than softball size, hammered the town of Waverly after a powerful storm cluster hit shortly after 3 pm. Tree debris and window damage has been confirmed by the Coffey County Sheriff’s Office. KVOE listeners sent in pictures of car windows either severely damaged or destroyed from the storm.
If there was good news, USD 243 Waverly students held their commencement activities outside before the storm rolled in.
The cluster was responsible for other impressive hailstones north of the KVOE listening area — ranging from teacup size in northeast Wabaunsee County to egg-sized hail or 2 inches in diameter in north Osage County.
The National Weather Service says this is just the fourth time since 1950 there had been softball size hail or larger in the Topeka forecast area. Coffey and Osage counties had softball-sized hail on July 4, 1992, with Dickinson County seeing the giant hail July 22, 1996, and Brown and Nemaha counties getting the large hail July 1, 1997.
In addition, extreme heat blanketed the area. The air temperature reached 95 degrees at the Emporia Municipal Airport, but the heat index reached a stifling 110 degrees by 3 pm.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. If you have hail photos from Coffey County, email kvoe@kvoe.com, message Facebook@kvoenews or message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863.
Photos by Kristin Bradley
{gallery}071120 Hail Kristin Bradley{/gallery}
Photos by Callie Meier
{gallery}071120 Hail Callie Meier{/gallery}
Photos by Mary Little
{gallery}071120 Hail Mary Little{/gallery}
Photos by Vickie Gaddis
{gallery}071120 Hail Vickie Gaddis{/gallery}
Graphics courtesy National Weather Service
{gallery}071120 Hail NWS Graphics{/gallery}
