Power Outage in Bird City, KS

Tornado remained mostly over open fields. There was a debris signature on radar, which was likely dust but there were some dead trees and sheet metal from an abandoned property that may have been lofted. Rating determined by 4 power poles that were recently replaced in far southwestern Cheyenne County Kansas.

Non-thunderstorm wind gusts up to 64 mph were recorded across Cheyenne county. The highest wind gust of 64 mph was recorded by the KSYF AWOS located in St. Francis, KS. Damage from these winds included snapped power poles 2 miles east-southeast of Bird City, KS and a window panes blown out of a screen door in St. Francis, KS.

Power outages were reported with the severe wind gusts. The winds may have been higher, however the AWOS went off-line during the power failure.

Southwest to west-southwest winds up to 5 mph combined with cold temperatures as cold as 5 below produced wind chills as low as 16 degrees below zero near the city of St. Francis. Impacts: power outages.

Emergency Manager reported three wooden power poles down due to strong wind gusts.

Wind gusts of over 60 MPH occurred across the county. The high winds also caused some shingles to be blown off a house, and a one inch diameter tree limb to be blown down in St. Francis. In addition, three inch diameter tree limbs were blown down in St. Francis, which may have lead to power poles being broken as well.

Emergency management reported that there were numerous power outages in Cheyenne County, including in Bird City around 7 PM local time on the evening of the 28th. Light freezing rain had been observed the previous day on the 27th with the Goodland, KS ASOS (KGLD) recording 0.15 inches of ice accumulation, with an additional 0.05 inches of ice measured by the KGLD ASOS on the evening of the 28th. Winds on the 28th then gusted to about 40 mph which was enough to cause power outages as ice-covered power lines succumbed to the gusty winds.

St. Francis, Bird City, McDonald and Atwood were without power due to thunderstorm wind gusts.

Peak gust of 5:19 pm CST in St Francis...measured at 73 mph. Power poles snapped 1 mile north of Sherman/Cheyenne county line on road 20. Poles leaning on HWY 161 near Road U 7 miles north of Bird City. Small building collapsed near Road 24 and W, approximately 10 miles NNW of Bird City.

The blizzard conditions were over the east half of the county. Twenty people had to shelter in place in Bird City. A day after the storm there were still many power outages across the county. An estimated 3-4 inches of snow fell over the southeast part of the county and melted quickly. A federal disaster was declared by President Donald J. Trump.

St. Francis lost power for an unknown period of time due to the thunder winds.

Power lines down at intersection of Road 7/Road D. A grass fire resulted from live wires on the ground. Time estimated from Doppler radar.

Overturned pivot and multiple power poles snapped near Road D and Road 27.

Five power poles down at Road D and Road 27. Wheat crop was damaged by hail of unknown size just south of this location near Road A and Road 28. Estimated time of report from radar.

Five power poles down on Road 28 between Road I and Road J. Estimated time of report from radar.

Power lines reported down in Bird City.

Six inches of snow fell with winds of 40 to 50 mph, reducing visibility below one quarter mile. According to newspaper reports, 50 power poles were downed in Cheyenne county as a result of the wet snow and strong wind. Crews from nearby counties assisted Cheyenne County in the restoration.

Thunderstorm winds blew down tree limbs and some power poles. Resident was without power for 9 hours. Only small hail was observed with about 0.30 inches of rain. Time of this report is estimated from Doppler radar and nearby reports.

Multiple power poles and power lines down in the area.

Several power poles and power lines were down north of Wheeler, Kansas. Doppler radar estimates place the time of the event around 5:55-6:00 pm CST.

Downed power lines near Bird City resulted in a two hour power outage in town. Several sheds were blown over or lost roofs. Corn and milo crops suffered an unknown amount of damage, with stalks knocked down by the wind. Two giant trees were downed from the wind, one which fell on a house, but it caused little or no damage. A newspaper article also provided some of this information.

This tornado tracked from Sherman county through most of Cheyenne county with a total path length of 34 miles. The tornado was on the ground for 62 minutes and produced F1-F2 damage along much of its path. In Cheyenne county, four homes were affected, all having lost the entire roof and some with outside wall damage. Tree and power pole damage was extensive as well as significant property damage including garages, outbuildings, grain bins and livestock. The tornado tracked almost straight north along Road 30 for most of its length in Cheyenne county, and then at Road U the tornado veered left and dissipated near Roads AA and 26. The tornado began at the Sherman county line near Road 30. |Wildlife officials stated that 22 mule deer, 50 ducks, 4 pheasants, 4 rabbits and 2 song birds were killed.

Storm chaser video showed a second tornado occurring at the same time as the large tornado near Bird City. Damage survey discovered 4 power poles down about 4 miles east of Bird City. Track estimated from Doppler radar imagery.

Tornado damage began near Road 14 south of Road C in Cheyenne county and tracked ENE. Damage path ended near road 18 just south of Road D. Damage included 6 power poles down and 5 irrigation systems turned over. Tree damage was minor due to limited number of trees. A large culvert was rolled and a grain bin received minor damage.

Power poles snapped 6-10 feet off the ground.

Some large limbs down, part of town without power.

During the overnight hours a line of thunderstorms moving south moved through part of Cheyenne County. The eastern most storm in the line produced winds up to 66 MPH at the St. Francis airport. These winds caused a power outage for St. Francis. The severe winds continued behind the storms as they moved on south.