Wichita, Kansas

Weather Forecast Office

May 19th 2012 Kingman & Harper county tornadoes

May 19th Kingman & Harper County Tornadoes

The tornado that took place northwest of the town of Harper has been given a preliminary rating of a low end EF3. This EF3 damage took place when the tornado struck a farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of the town of Harper, KS. The tornado that tracked along the Harper-Kingman County line has been upgraded to an EF3. This is because we now have a measured wind speed of 166 mph from 300 feet off of the ground. Click the placemarks on the map below to view info on the damage.

Tornado Tracks

Damage Pictures

EF1 damage to manufactured home 5 miles west of Harper	EF1 damage to manufactured home 5 miles west of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper
EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper
EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper
EF3 damage to farmstead 4 miles west and 2 miles north of Harper	EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 6 miles SW of Spivey	EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 5 miles S of Spivey	EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 5 miles S of Spivey
EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 5 miles S of Spivey	EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 4 miles SE of Spivey	EF1 damage to a wind turbine about 5 miles SE of Spivey

Tornado Pictures

Near Crystal Springs. Picture by Nikki Hightree.

Near Crystal Springs. Picture by Nikki Hightree

Near Crystal Springs. Picture by Nikki Hightree.

Near Harper. Picture by Alex Laugeman

Radar images

Base reflectivity from the Wichita radar at 628 pm.

Base reflectivity from the Wichita radar at 650 pm.

Storm relative velocity from the Wichita radar at 628 pm.

Storm relative velocity from the Wichita radar at 650 pm.

Storm relative velocity animation showing strong rotation first passing south of Spivey with another circulation later passing northwest of Harper

Video


Video courtesy of George Kourounis. Description of video: Very close tornado intercept just south of the town of Rago, KS.	Video Courtesy of Brandon Ivey. Description of video: A couple of rope tornadoes were seen in Kingman County and a cone tornado developed over northern Harper County. Large hail was also documented on May 19th, 2012.

Meteorology

Click the image above for an in depth meteorological breakdown of this event provided by Jon Davies