Rare Southern U.S. Winter Storm; Dangerous Cold Weather For Much of the Eastern U.S.; Critical Fire Weather for Southern California

A rare winter storm impacting the Southern U.S. will move offshore Wednesday morning. Behind the storm, arctic air will continue encompassing the eastern two-thirds of the Nation with only a slow return to normal temperatures expected by the end of the week. Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity will maintain Critical fire weather conditions in southern California into Thursday. Read More >

Overview

Severe thunderstorms developed on the evening of March 13, 2024. These storms produced large hail up to softball size, damaging winds, and two tornadoes. Both of these tornadoes were rated EF-2, the first in rural areas of Wabaunsee County northeast of Alta Vista and the second in Shawnee County just northwest of Rossville.

Image of the after dark tornado near Alta Vista

EF-2 tornado near Alta Vista. Image courtesy of Travis Heying of Kansas.com.

Tornado
Photos
Radar
Environment

Tornadoes:

Tornado 1 - Northeast of Alta Vista
Wabaunsee County

Date	March 13, 2024
Time (CDT)	7:45-8:15 PM
EF Rating	EF-2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	8.8 miles
Max Width	400 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A strong tornado developed just east northeast of Alta Vista and tracked north-northeast producing EF2 damage to hardwood trees along its path. Additional damage to outbuildings was also noted approximately 3 miles northeast of Volland. The tornado tracked mainly across rural and open areas.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado 2 - Rossville
Shawnee County

Date	March 13, 2024
Time (CDT)	8:27-8:46 PM
EF Rating	EF-2
Est. Peak Winds	120 mph
Path Length	4.7 miles
Max Width	200 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: Another strong but smaller tornado tracked from 1 mile west of Rossville to approximately 3 miles north northeast of Rossville. This was also an EF2 tornado with winds to around 120 mph doing damage to homes and outbuildings along its path.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

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

Photos

Tornadoes


Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Sierra Lindsey.)	Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of John Homenuk.)	Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Charles Peak.	Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Travis Heying.)


Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Scott Currens.)	Tornado near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Nick Gorman.)	Tornado and wider supercell structure near Alta Vista. (Image courtesy of Chip Redmond.)	The tornado near Rossville, looking north from I-70. (Image courtesy of AJ Dome.)

Damage Survey


EF-2 tree damage between Alta Vista and Volland.	EF-1 damage to a barn roof northeast of Volland.	EF-2 damage to a home northwest of Rossville.

Radar

Header


Reflectivity (left) and storm-relative velocity (right) from the KTWX radar across western Wabaunsee County.	Zoomed radar view of the tornado near peak strength northeast of Alta Vista, around 7:56 PM CDT. Reflectivity on left and storm relative velocity on right.	Reflectivity (left) and storm-relative velocity (right) from the KTWX radar across northwest Shawnee and southern Jackson County.	Zoomed radar view of the tornado near peak strength northeast of Rossville, around 8:30 PM CDT. Reflectivity on left and storm relative velocity on right.