7/21/2009
COURTNEY LOONEY
Storms with strong wind and hail up to the size of a softball charged through northwest Kansas Monday evening, shattering windows in homes and vehicles and tearing limbs from trees.
The storms began around 5 p.m. Monday, with most of the damage reported in Cheyenne, Sherman and Wallace counties.
“We had a lot of wind and hail damage around St. Francis and Bird City,” said Gary Rogers, director of emergency management in Sherman, Cheyenne and Rawlins counties. “It was just a severe thunderstorm warning, but there were lots of branches down. In the rural area, crops are gone. Rural homes had a lot of damage to siding and roofs.”
At 6:39 p.m. a wind gust of 79 mph was recorded at Renner Field in Goodland. According to Scott Mentzer, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Goodland, it was the 10th strongest wind gust ever reported at the airport.
Wind speeds ranged from 50 to 79 mph with the storm.
“We had some hail in the area,” said Wallace County Sheriff Larry Townsend. “But the biggest damage we had would be wind damage.”


Read more about the Monday night storms in Wednesday's Salina Journal.