Heavy to Excessive Rainfall This Week from the Southwest into Central U.S.; Severe Weather in the Southern Plains

Pacific tropical moisture wrapping into a storm will continue a multi-day heavy rainfall event this week that will impact multiple areas in the Plains and Intermountain West. Isolated severe thunderstorm wind gusts and possibly a tornado or two could occur tonight from southern and eastern New Mexico into west Texas. Read More >

Overview

Within a northwest flow pattern, extreme instability developed across the region. The greatest combination of instability and shear occurred during the afternoon and evening hours when supercell thunderstorms, producing several relatively weak tornadoes occurred on the southeast side of the Kansas City Metropolitan area. Several tornadoes occurred in Lee's Summit and just west-southwest of the Pleasant Hill Weather Forecast Office. The most significant of the three confirmed tornadoes occurred in Lee's Summit. This tornado did only minor structural damage The storms also produced widespread heavy rainfall and there were numerous reports of 3 to 5+ rainfall reports. This led to numerous areas of flash flooding.

Tornado
Radar

Tornadoes:

Lee's Summit Tornado
JACKSON COUNTY

Date	July 1, 2015
Time (Local)	6:51 PM - 6:55 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 mph
Path Length	0.9 mile
Max Width	100 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This tornado formed near St. Luke's East Hospital and went southeast toward Lee's Summit North High School. The tornado did some superficial damage to a shopping center at the intersection of Sycamore and Douglas in Lee's Summit. The tornado then dissipated near Lee's Summit North High School after it destroyed a fireworks tent and knocked over a large trailer in the high school parking lot. The storm went on to produce a second brief and weak tornado near Lake Lotawana.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

This photo was taken just north of HWY 150 and HWY 291 intersection, looking north toward the Summit Technology Campus and downtown Lee's Summit. The tornado lasted approximately 4 minutes, and did minor damage to structures and trees.

Photo: Chris Gitro

The shopping center at Douglas and Sycamore sustained mostly superficial damage when the tornado passed through the area. Winds were likely around 100 mph, but only lasted a short time.

Photo: NWS Storm Survey

A fireworks booth was destroyed and a large nearby trailer was knocked over in the Lee's Summit North High School parking lot. The tornado dissipated shortly after it impacted the fireworks booth.

Photo: NWS Storm Survey

A photo of the supercell that produced the Lee's Summit tornado as seen from the HWY 7 and HWY 150 intersection, just north of Pleasant Hill.

Photo: Jared Leighton

Lake Lotawana Tornado
JACKSON COUNTY

Date	July 1, 2015
Time (Local)	7:04 PM - 7:05 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	75 mph
Path Length	0.2 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This weak and brief tornado caused some minor tree damage in and around Lake Lotawana.

Track Map

Pleasant Hill Tornado
CASS COUNTY

Date	July , 2015
Time (Local)	8:01 PM - 8:07 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 mph
Path Length	1.4 miles
Max Width	100 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This tornado formed just southwest of Pleasant Hill, and did some tree damage to areas outside the city.

Track Map

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph