TORNADO NUMBER 123 - Hiawatha, Kansas

Date: June 4, 2005

Location: 6 miles S to 6 miles SE of Hiawatha, Kansas

Time: 1518 CST to 1526 CST

Length: 3 miles

Width: 400 yards

Rated: F2

Killed: 0

Injured: 0

STORMDATA:

*

Three farmsteads or businesses sustained damage with a total of 15 buildings damaged or destroyed. Several cars were rolled and a combine was moved a considerable distance. A salvage yard was near one of the houses damaged by the tornado. A hubcap from the salvage yard had become airborne and was impaled in the sheet rock in the living room of the house.

*

A significant outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes was expected this day from Iowa and eastern Nebraska... south into Oklahoma and Texas. We believed the best area was going to be in northeast Kansas and southwest Iowa and started with a target of Topeka. While in Topeka getting fuel... storms started forming just to our northwest. They quickly became severe with one storm standing out on the east end which tracked near highway 75 between Holton and Fairview. We targeted this storm and for awhile we were not extremely impressed. As the storm approached Powhattan, KS... it rapidly organized into a strongly rotating supercell and produced a tornado about 4 miles east southeast of Powhattan. Here is our view looking to the east. Debris crossing the road in front of us. Multi-vortex tornado a few hundred yards to our northeast. One vortex stands out as it starts to rip up trees. Trees. Another vortex. Strong looking tornado.

As the tornado approached highway 73... there were a few farm houses in the way. Tornado getting ready to cross the road. A barn starts to come apart. Then a large barn: one two three. Here is a 30 second clip of the tornado crossing the road. After crossing the road... the tornado continued eastward carrying a lot of debris with it: one two three. Heading east with the tornado now to our north. Large tornado.

The tornado started to weaken... but still caused extensive damage to another farm house. Debris from house. Tornado going into rope stage. Rope stage.