Power Outage in Hill City, KS

Report of 15 power poles blown over/snapped from this evening���s storm.

Two rounds of high winds moved across Graham County with mesonet stations recording high wind gusts of 58-81 mph, with the peak gust located in Hill City, Kansas. There was extensive damage across the county due to the high winds. One barn was blown down onto a roadway, six outbuildings were destroyed. Two homes were damaged in the county with one home considered abandoned. Older structures, including barns, around the county received various degrees of damage, mainly to the old tin roofs. There was also an unknown number of power poles down/leaning around the county. An unknown number of trees also sustained damage during the event, with one report listing 3.5 to 4 inch diameter tree limbs ripped off an evergreen tree in Hill City. With the degree of damage across the county, winds are estimated to have gusted up to 110 mph.

High winds knocked over a powerline which sparked a wildfire in the northeast corner of Gove County that gradually moved into southeast Graham County near the community of St. Peter, Kansas. This fire burned approximately 4,520 acres damaging several outbuildings and grassland. The Gove-Sheridan-Graham fire burned a path length of roughly 9 miles across the three counties.

A strong cold front moved southeast across Graham County producing high winds sustained at 40 to 69 mph with gusts ranging from 58 to 81 mph. The Hill City ASOS station recorded a 66 mph peak gust. A mesonet station northeast of Bogue recorded a peak gust of 81 mph. During the event, Graham County Dispatch reported the high winds downed power lines which sparked a few sporadic fires around the county and cut power to the ASOS station after the 7:40 pm CDT observation. A more notable fire on south and southeast of Nicodemus due to the embers from a trash burning fire catching the grass on fire. No injuries or structural damage was reported from the fires. The high winds also lifted dirt into the air which caused reduced visibilities in Hill City of one hundred to two hundred yards. At 7:21 pm CDT, a car accident occurred due south of Hill City on Highway 283 due to the reduced visibilities. No injuries were reported.

Law enforcement reported numerous live tree limbs and power lines down causing power outages. Four tank batteries for oil were blown over and an additional oil battery south of Hill City caught on fire. A power pole was also knocked down. The Hill City ASOS observed a 93 mph wind gust at the time the damage occurred.

Pictures received of 4 power poles snapped or blown down due to strong thunderstorm winds. Time is radar estimated and speed is estimated by storm damage.

Several cars were reported off the road. Sporadic power outages occurred, mainly for the western portions of the county where the higher snowfall amounts were located. The visibility at Hill City fell to less than a mile almost all the morning, with an hour of quarter mile visibility reported during this time in the falling and blowing snow. Snowfall amounts ranged from a couple inches in the far east part of the county to almost 20 inches along the western border of the county. The snowfall amounts quickly increased over the western quarter of the county. A federal disaster was declared by President Donald J. Trump.

The roof was blown off the power plant for Hill City, causing the town to lose power. A shed was blown off its foundation and landed on a car. Numerous tree limbs were broken off. Damage was primarily confined to the southeast portion of town.

Reports were received from spotters, the public and law enforcement. Damage included a roof blown off a grainery, metal feeders damaged, power poles and lines down, large trees uprooted and large limbs broken, a center picot overturned and minor roof damage near Morland. Damage occurred from approximately 6 NW of Morland southeast to Morland.

Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and numerous large branches measuring 12-16 inches in diameter. A trampoline was lofted by strong winds and was suspended in power lines.

Hill City ASOS measured a peak wind of 83 mph with severe gusts continuing until midnight. Law enforcement reported trees and power lines, some major, were blown down around town. Large dumpsters were also blown around. Many residents were without power.

One half mile of power poles were broken on an E-W section road northwest of Morland. Time of tornado development and dissipation estimated from Doppler radar.

A significant tornado (rated F2 based on damage survey) touched down 8 miles SW of Hill City near Road 220 and Road J at approximately 4:20 pm CDT. As the tornado continued northeast toward Road 260 and Road M it damaged two homes and destroyed a detached garage. One home suffered roof damage while another had part of the roof from the upper story removed. Significant and continuous tree and power pole damage was noted for one mile south of this location. Some of this damage was likely produced by an intense rear-flank downdraft accompanying the southern periphery of the tornado. As the tornado crossed Highway 283 approximately 3.5 miles south of Hill City, it caused structural damage to a hangar used as storage. A boat, a small four-wheeler and a camper were either heavily damaged or destroyed, with debris rolled or bounced between one-half and three-fourths of a mile. The tornado crossed the intersection of Road 290 and Road O producing tree damage. The tornado ultimately lifted about a half mile northeast of this location at approximately 4:48 pm CDT.

Large cottonwood trees downed along US 283 south of Hill City, Kansas. Other damage included privacy fences, horse sheds, power lines, and mailbox and sign damage.

The strong winds blew down 4 to 6 inch diameter tree limbs and knocked out power. Also, shingles were blown off roofs and tops of trees were torn off.

During the overnight hours a line of severe thunderstorms moved east over Northwest Kansas. Wind gusts of 63 MPH were measured at the Hill City airport as the storms moved through. Wind from the line of severe storms blew down large limbs from a cottonwood tree at Sheridan State Fishing Lake near Hoxie. The winds also blew down trees, large limbs and power lines in Bogue.

A line of scattered thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon from Tribune, Kansas northeast to Graham County. Wind damage occurred south of Bogue, Kansas with power poles blown down.