Wednesday night’s tornado-producing supercell thunderstorm in Chase County was quite prolific in that regard.
Initially, Chase County law enforcement mentioned the possibility of two tornadoes happening simultaneously, one just north of Strong City and one in Cottonwood Falls. That point was made around the time the National Weather Service mentioned evidence of as many as four tornadoes.
The final count: eight — including a short time when three twisters were on the ground simultaneously.
*The first tornado touched down just before 8:15 pm about six miles southwest of Elmdale. The twister, which was around 100 yards wide at ground level, was on the ground for less than a mile before it lifted at 8:15 pm. This twister was rated EF-1 with peak gusts just under 100 mph.
*The second tornado, an EF-0, formed a mile southwest of Elmdale as the first twister dissipated. It was on the ground four minutes and moved into the Elmdale city limits before it fizzled. This was the twister that rolled a semi near the junction of US Highway 50 and Kansas Highway 150, sending the driver to Newman Regional Health for treatment. The maximum path width was around 100 yards.
*The third tornado was one of the two EF-2s generated by the supercell. It touched down half a mile southeast of Elmdale shortly after the second tornado died and was on the ground for 30 minutes, traveling almost 12 miles with a maximum path width of half a mile before vanishing six miles northeast of Strong City shortly after 8:50 pm. This twister caused mid-level damage to a metal building east of Elmdale and to farm outbuildings southwest of Strong City after peak estimated winds of 125 mph.
*While the third tornado was moving towards Strong City, the fourth tornado was developing 2.5 miles east of Elmdale. It also tracked northeast, but it was only on the ground for two minutes before dissipating southeast of Strong City. The 1.3-mile track was 200 yards wide at its worst, causing damage to trees and a small outbuilding north of Chase County Fishing Lake. It was rated EF-1 with maximum winds near 100 mph.
*Shortly after the fourth tornado died and the third one was ongoing, the fifth tornado — an EF-0 — touched down about two miles southwest of Strong City. It traveled less than three miles, lifting just north of Strong City at 8:40 pm. This tornado had estimated winds as high as 74 mph and was around 175 yards wide.
*Tornado No. 6 was on the ground while the third and fifth tornadoes were also established, although it lasted less than five minutes before dissipating. The tornado touched down at 8:35 pm in east Cottonwood Falls and barely traveled a mile out of town before it died. It was rated EF-1 with estimated gusts near 100 mph and a maximum path width of 50 yards.
*Near the end of the third tornado’s life span, the seventh tornado developed four miles east-northeast of Cottonwood Falls and stayed on the ground 10 minutes, traveling three miles to the northeast with a path width of 150 yards. This EF-0 was also responsible for the second injury of the night, picking up a car and breaking windows. The driver declined a hospital trip afterward.
*The final tornado of the night developed at 8:55 pm eight miles northeast of Strong City and went 5.5 miles to the northeast, dissipating 3.7 miles south of Dunlap. This was the second and final EF-2 of the night, damaging a transmission power structure outside Dunlap. The 100-yard tornado had winds estimated at just under 120 mph.
Most of the tornadoes had a straight damage path, but the final tornado went from a north-northeasterly direction for much of its life to a north-northwesterly direction as it crossed the Chase-Morris county line.
The National Weather Service says it is still gathering and plotting information.
Public statement from National Weather Service on April 19 tornadoes in Chase County
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
602 PM CDT FRI APR 21 2023
.UPDATE…CORRECTED DATE
…NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 04/19/2023 CHASE COUNTY TORNADO EVENT…
THE FOLLOWING ARE TORNADO TRACKS WE COULD FIND FROM THE CYCLIC
SUPERCELL THAT TRACKED ACROSS CHASE COUNTY ON APRIL 19TH 2023.
THIS IS DATA IS PRELIMINARY AND COULD BE CHANGED AT A LATER DATE
AS WE CONTINUE TO GATHER INFORMATION.
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #1…
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 99 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 0.06 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 100 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:13 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 6.01 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELMDALE
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:15 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELMDALE
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #2…
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 75 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 100 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 1
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:15 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 1 MILE SOUTHWEST OF ELMDALE
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:19 PM CDT
END LOCATION: ELMDALE
INJURY WAS FROM A SEMI THAT WAS ROLLED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF
HIGHWAY 50 AND HIGHWAY 150
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #3…
RATING: EF-2
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 125 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 11.7 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 0.5 MILES (880 YARDS)
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:22 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 0.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ELMDALE
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:52 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF STRONG CITY
EF-2 DAMAGE WAS TO A METAL BUILDING 1 MILE EAST OF ELMDALE AND
TO FARM OUTBUILDINGS 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF STRONG CITY.
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #4…
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 94 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 200 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:31 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 2.5 MILES EAST OF ELMDALE
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:33 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 1 MILE SOUTH/SOUTHEAST OF STRONG CITY
DAMAGE WAS NORTH OF CHASE COUNTY FISHING LAKE. MOST OF IT WAS TREE
DAMAGE WITH SOME DAMAGE TO A SMALL OUTBUILDING.
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #5…
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 74 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 2.7 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 175 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:38 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 2.3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF STRONG CITY
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:40 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 0.2 MILES NORTH OF STRONG CITY
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #6…
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 94 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.1 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:35PM PM CDT
START LOCATION: EAST COTTONWOOD FALLS
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:39 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 0.7 MILES NORTHEAST OF COTTONWOOD FALLS
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #7…
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 85 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 3.2 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 150 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 1
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:47 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 4 MILES EAST/NORTHEAST OF COTTONWOOD FALLS
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 8:57 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF COTTONWOOD FALLS
INJURY WAS FROM A CAR THAT WAS PICKED UP WITH GLASS BREAKING AND
CAUSING INJURY.
.CHASE COUNTY TORNADO #8…
RATING: EF-2
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 118 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 5.5 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 100 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/19/2023
START TIME: 8:55 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 8 MILES NORTHEAST OF STRONG CITY
END DATE: 04/19/2023
END TIME: 9:07 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 3.7 MILES SOUTH OF DUNLAP
EF-2 DAMAGE WAS TO TRANSMISSION POWER STRUCTURE AROUND 3.5 MILES
SOUTH OF DUNLAP VERY CLOSE TO THE CHASE/MORRIS COUNTY LINE.
&&
EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
EF0…WEAK……65 TO 85 MPH
EF1…WEAK……86 TO 110 MPH
EF2…STRONG….111 TO 135 MPH
EF3…STRONG….136 TO 165 MPH
EF4…VIOLENT…166 TO 200 MPH
EF5…VIOLENT…>200 MPH
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENTS AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
