Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by storms and severe weather. After graduation from college in 1974 I attended my first spotter training provided by the National Weather Service and began to call in reports of severe weather in my area. A few years later I became a weather watcher for KSN TV channel 3 in Wichita and attended their spotter training. I began to chase storms in the mid 1980s because I wanted to see tornadoes but no tornadoes were occurring around my fixed spotting site. Up until 2004 I had caught only 3 tornadoes, but caught up with 9 in 2004 and 3 in 2005. In the early “dry” years that I chased I did gain experience and my chasing has evolved to the present time where I am a storm reporter for the KSAL radio group in Salina as well as spotting for KSN in Wichita. When storm season arrives, I will post accounts and pictures from my chases.

© Henry Diehl

February 9, high wind warning for central Kansas.

I was in Salina getting a new starter for my feeding truck when the wind was reaching it's peak velosity, blowing out of the southwest, gusting up to 50 mph. I left Salina en route to Brookville to stand by at the fire station due to the red flag warning in effect at the time. West of Salina, driving into the wind, I met a semi on highway 40 (a two lane highway). The resultant buffet caused by driving 58mph into a 50 mph headwind plus the turbulence by the semi, ripped the hood loose on my pickup and wrapped it back over the cab and shattered the windshield with a sudden crash! I was able to slow down and pull off the highway safely and bend the hood back down temporarly and limp into Brookville. Luckily, no fires started today. Still, what a blow!

February 14-15, storm chasers convention.

Liz and I attended the convention in the Denver area and had a very good time. In addition to renewing friendships from previous years, I got to see presentations about severe weather and tornadoes. Also neat, were chats with Dr. Greg Forbes from the weather channel, Rich Thompson, lead forecaster for the Storm Prediction Center, and Tim Marshall, who gave me more insight on the June 11 Salina tornado. Tim, probably more than any other person, has motivated me into this chasing "habit". Favorite presentations were Josh Wurman's and Howard Bluestein's radar images of tornadic storms, as well as Rich Thompson's tornado parameter forecasting. I learned about a large research project, Vortex II, which will begin in May and focus on severe storms anywhere in the plains. With 40 vehicles in this chase armada, as well as free-lance chasers converging around significant storms, safety and logistics are going to be compromised! Covering severe weather for KSAL could be more difficult to do this spring with this project happening in the area but I understand why it is nesessary. Also neat at the convention, were Texas chasers who sat at my table. They had pictures of the Lone Grove Ok. tornado that killed 8 or 9 people February 10. Tim Marshall was also on that one. Anyway, I had a great time.

March 16, making many storm chase presentations.

It's mid March, severe weather awareness week. I have been asked to do lots of severe storm/storm chase presentations to different enities. I did a storm safety talk to our church via parish nurse severe weather week. I followed that up with a 3/4 hour live program on KSAL radio last Thursday, talking about June 11, 08, my trip to the storm chasers convention and some severe saftey tips. Saturday I give a storm spotting/positioning talk to our rural fire district volunteers and follow that up on Tuesday by giving storm spotting tips to the Ell-Saline/Southeast Saline bus drivers. After spring break I will do Ell-Saline Jr. High/Sr High school classes with all day saftey talks. It's a busy time to prepare for all of these talks but I enjoy doing it and hopefully people remember to be safe during the upcoming storm season.

March 23, High wind warning, tornado watch, severe thunderstorm warning SE Saline Co.

An intense low moved into central Nebraska today and created insane wind speeds here in central Kansas. By 10 am. Wichita NWS issued a high wind warning for us and I know of 4 semis that were tipped over in the Salina area. SPC had a moderate risk for central/southeast Kansas with a 15% tornado prob. from Salina to Topeka south to Oklahoma. Around 1 pm storms started out in Lincoln Co. and a tornado watch was issued for central Kansas. I called Cody T. to come out so he could ride with me,(Jeremy had a 3 pm bus route and couldn't come). We drove up into Lincoln Co. and checked out these storms but the wind shear was tearing them apart. We also watched an isolated storm down in the Medicine Lodge area that was very strong and racing northeast. I decided to chase this storm as the track would take it through the McPherson area. About this time we were paged to a potential large grass fire so we broke off the chase and battled this fire for a short hour. After helping put the fire out we rechecked the radar---nothing much was happening except the isolated severe warned storm from Med. Lodge had moved to southeast of McPherson. Due to storm speeds, I told Cody we'd drive down I-70 east bound and get ahead of it (hopefully). We fianlly got in front of the storm a Junction City and turned south and got southeast of the storm and set up on a hill 15 miles southeast of Junction City. We saw some good structure with a wall cloud forming at times but it just couldn't quite get the job done. After the storm raced across I-70 we called it quits and started home. At this time a storm intensified and became severe warned in southeast Saline Co. We pulled into Abilene as the storm approached from the southwest pelting us with heavy rain and pea/dime hail. I made a live report on KSAL from south Abilene, describing the rain and hail we were getting, warning drivers on I-70 to be cautious. We then drove south then west towards Salina encountering hail piled up on the road high enough that we made tracks and skidded at times! Soon after this the warning was dropped as the storm weakened and we went home. Not bad for the first chase of the season.

March 28, March goes out like a lion, Blizzard!

We had a blizzard develop during the night into this morning. I called in around 10" to the Wichita NWS but was probably deeper---too much wind! The only way we could get around was with 4 wheel drive tractors this morning. In the afternoon the snow stopped and the sun came out and the wet snow settled some so travel was some easier. This was the first good moisture since last Decenber.

April 26, early morning tornado warning.

Saturday night, SPC upgraded Kansas to a moderate risk so I was thinking that a significant chase day would happen in the afternoon. Friday the 24, we used the air conditioner as we hauled cattle to summer pasture, Saturday we used the heater while hauling cattle. The cold front was supposed to lift back to the north over us by Sunday morning (26th) and I thought things would not pop untill the afternoon. Unfortionately at 5:30 am, the weather radio toned for a tornado warning for Barton county, then toned again for a tornado watch for central Kansas. I looked at the radar on my computer and saw a classic hook just southwest of Great Bend with a severe warned storm located south of Ellsworth. I loaded the pickup and headded south then west towards Ellsworth. The lead warned storm weakened so I turned south intending to get on the south side of the Barton Co. T-warned storm. Due to my computer missing a couple of scans on radar I realized that the storm was west of Ellsworth and only severe warned. I made a mad dash north on highway 14 to Ellsworth where I stopped and got some much needed fuel, (I left home with half a tank!) then headded north to Lincoln where the severe part of the storm was located 15 miles SW of Lincoln. I had already made some live reports on KSAL and as I set up on the north side of Lincoln, I called KSN and talked to Dean who said the hail core was only a mile to the west of Lincoln. I drove west on highway 18, encountering dime sized hail 1 mile west of Lincoln pulling off on a side road and set up. The hail increased to nickels then quarters to occasional golf balls so I rediled KSN to give this update which they relayed to the Wichita NWS. At this time I went back on live on KSAL describing the hail that was pounding me and when I looked at the radar to tell folks who would get the hail or not, the warning box went from severe thunderstorm to tornado warning! The guy at the studio hadn't even got the warning yet so I said the warning was upgraded and folks in Lincoln needed to take immediate cover as the "hook" part of the storm was one mile away! I could not see any structure to my south due to rain and hail so I drove back east to get out of the precip. for a better view. I called the NWS to give them an update of what I could see to my southwest when the forecastor said there was velosity NW of Lincoln. I looked north and told him I could see a lowered cloud base and after I hung up I saw disorganized rotation as the storm moved northeast away from Lincoln. Soon the storm weakened and the warning was dropped so I went home and then to Salina to church thinking I had time before the afternoon event happened. Halfway through church storms again intensified southwest of Ellsworth and was severe warned. I jumped on I-70 westbound to cover this storm when again, the tornado warning box appeared, and I'm 20 miles away! I speeded west on I-70 then north to east of Westfall in eastern Lincoln Co. where I met up with Jason, Cody and Michael H. I made two live reports on KSAL from this position but saw nothing threatning as this storm was linear and undercut. The warning was soon dropped and we moved just west of Salina, positioning ourselves for other storms moving in but none went severe. After 3pm or so I grabbed some dinner in Salina and went home.

May 15, tornado warning Reno/Sedgwick county.

The storm prediction center had a moderate risk outlook for south central Kansas through Missouri today. I had decided to chase today's action yesterday as I saw there was nothing coming for next week and so far we've had little in the way of storms in central Kansas so far in May making me ancsy. At 1 pm the front had passed my home area so I knew storms would fire just to my south soon, similiar to what happened May 13. I decided to drive south to MacPherson to first, get south of the front and second, pick up Cody T. at Mac. as Jeremy was tied up driving the school bus. I left home when I saw towers blowing up southeast of Salina and met Cody on the east end of MacPherson. We watched storms develop along the front northeast as well as southwest of Mac, forming a broken line. We opted to chase the storms to the sothwest as all the significant storms became severe warned and I thought the southwest storms would remain more discrete. A tornado watch was issued for all of south central Kansas at this time. We headed towards Hutchinson to get on the south side of a promising storm northwest of there at that time moving east. We got "cored" by this storm as it turned south and we got held up by a nasty car accident on the northeast side of town. Although golf ball to tennis ball hail was reported in Hutch., we only had hail up to quarters. We finally broke out of the storm 7 miles south of Hutch. but could tell on my laptop that the storm was beginning to "hook"! We pulled off highway 96 at Haven and looked back at the hook area of the storm seeing a rounded shelf cloud with a rain wrapped wall cloud in the middle. For a minute, the wall cloud produced a cone funnel, then rain masked the wall cloud as the storm moved right at us. I made reports to KSN and the NWS during this time then we drove back to highway 96 and distanced ourselves from the approaching storm. At this point our chase went bad. I completely lost my sense of direction, which I never do! Cody also got turned around some but he was running the GPS and was not as lost as me. I honestly thought the pickup had an electrical malfunction and the GPS and the direction compass was giving wrong readings. Although funnel sightings continued on the radio (KFDI) we made wrong turns and missed all this action. We ended up in west Wichita where the supposed circulation weakened and moved by and the warning was dropped to a severe warning. We decided to call it a day and I finally regained my direction when we passed the airport driving down highway 54.

June 6, severe thunderstorm warning, Barton/Russell counties.

SPC had a slight risk outlook for central Kansas today. While I was planting forage sorghum in the late afternoon,I watched a cumulous tower up 3 times to my southwest before it broke the cap and became established. Soon a thunderstorm warning was issued for Barton and Russell counties with the storm track pointing right at the town of Ellsworth. Jeremy and I left home around eightish and met chase pard Jason at Ellsworth. We then went south down highway 156 as the northern core of the storm weakened so we drove into the path of the southern core. We set up 3 miles northeast of Holyrood and let this weakening core pass right over us. I made two reports to the Wichita NWS and soon thereafter the warning was dropped. We followed the storm back to Ellsworth, then to Brookville, where we set up and took some lightning video. A friendly sheriff deputy checked us out and we decided to call it a night. Little rain, no wind, no hail was observed.

June 9, Severe thunderstorm warning, eastern Saline county.

Storm Prediction Center had central Kansas in a "moderate" risk outlook when I woke up and looked at the computer at 6:20 am. They then moved the moderate risk down into southeast Kansas with their 8:30 update, and left central Kansas in a slight risk. At 9 am. strong storms built southward through central Lincoln county but were not severe warned. I drove up to Berverly which was located under the stroungest part of the storm, finding only heavy rain and not much wind which I reported to Wichita NWS and KSN. I followed this core eastward along highway 18 to I-35 when I saw a storm blow up right over home and move towards Salina. NWS put out a sig. weather advisory for Saline county as I charged south to intercept. I drove under the core of the storm on the west side of Salina and pulled into the parking lot where Vortex II had spent the night and made reports to the NWS, KSN and KSAL about heavy rain with a few dime sized hail stones that fell. Soon after this, after the storm passed Salina, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for eastern Saline county. I drove to I-70, then east to try to get ahead of this storm but it moved southeast passing ahead of me south of Abilene. I gave up the chase at this point, making a "prediction for the afternoon" recording used on KSAL's next half hour report. Late in the afternoon, Cody T. (Jeremy's friend and budding chaser) talked to me about his "tornado warned" storm catch southeast of Wichita. That was where all the action was for the rest of the day, pretty well in the SPC's moderate risk area.

June 14/15, early morning tornado warning, southern Saline/norhtern McPherson county.

SPC had a slight risk for central Kansas Sunday afternoon and evening. I watched a super cell move through southwest/southcentral Kansas like they have done the past several evenings. This one was tornado warned for most of its path. At around 11ish (night) I watched on the radar if Medicine Lodge was going to be hit by this storm when I saw new development a county to my southwest. I went to bed to try to get some sleep thinking warnings would come and at around 2:30 the weather radio toned for a thunderstorm warning for the area 25 miles to my south. I looked at radar and saw the warned storm forming a thin hook! I grabbed clothes and computer and left home to get on this storm when after 10 minutes the radio tones for a tornado warning for Saline and McPherson counties. A glance at the computer showed a full blown super cell with a huge hook and a velosity couplet 5 miles south of Lindsburg! I blasted to I-35, then south to try to get ahead of it hopefully before it crossed I-35. I made multiple reports on KSAL as I was charging south and was talking to the NWS in Wichita when the hook and I met 3 miles northeast of McPherson. The wind was strong out of the west with heavy rain and dime hail, then suddenly shifted out of the southeast! I drove out of the core and parked, watching the storm move east of I-35 and weaken. There was a flat wall cloud and some scud bombs for a while to my northeast but the storm continued to weaken and the warning was dropped. Luckily no touchdowns occurred as far as I know.

June 15, busted chase in south central Kansas.

SPC had central and south central Kansas in a moderate risk bullseye for this afternoon/evening with a 10% tornado prob along with it. After having excitement the night before, I finally thought we'd intercept some tornadic super cells here in central Kansas in the daylight! Cape and shear were good and there was no clouds here in the home area to hinder development. Around 3:00 pm. storms developed around Dodge & Garden Cities and started moving northeast---EXCELLENT, just what I like, storms moving towards me into KSAL listening area. These storms grew, and became severe warned, then two became tornado warned, just like I scripted the details. Jeremy and I left home around 5 pm. intending to meet the storm in the Great Bend area and start covering it for the radio station, NWS and TV. Cody T. was also hedding towards this storm in front of us and Jason, having just gotten off work held back around Brookville for a while. From this point in time, things started to go bad for us with these storms. First, the tornado warned storm in Edwards/Pawnee county slowed and almost stopped, (making us take more time to reach it). Second, the storm turned east after the hesitation so it was no longer moving towards us. Third, many storms began to form around the main super cell, especially under the anvil, which extended up to Ellsworth. When we got to Great Bend, I made the decision to commit to the T-warned storm located one county our southwest, hoping the new development behind us did not become severe. At this time, we could also see the Marion county/Butler county storm towers exploding way to our east (both these storms were later tornado warned with the Butler storm producing multiple tornados! I called Todd P. that I was going southwest (out of the KSAL listening area) so he would know where I was, (I was determined to catch a tornado at this point). We drove south to St John, intending to get southeast of the oncoming storm with a confirmed tornado southwest of Macksville (the tornado was 13 miles to our southwest at this time). As we drove south of St John, our view was masked by new storms forming all over the place forming a a huge blob of precipitation instead of an isolated supercell! We saw some interesting outflow clouds/scud/dust come out of the storm but no tornados while the high precipitation mess passed just to our north, now producing macro bursts and severe outflow winds,(derecho). We drove back north on highway 281 to highway 50 and turned east, dodging tree limbs laying on the roadway while driving in heavy rain. Although the storm was tornado warned with embedded circulations in front of us (east), the storm "bowed" out, extending from south of Salina to Wichita with straight line winds the main issue. Cody T. discovered this fact as he was trying to stay east of the mess of storms and was caught by the high straight line winds on the west side of Hutchison (estimated at 80-100 mph). He told me that the trees suddenly bent over 90 degrees when the wind overtook him! Hutchison had structure damage, trucks blown off the road, power out and trees down all over. Jeremy and I took highway 14 north, behind all this not wanting to get tied up in traffic snarls but seeing treelimbs down all the way north to Lyons where we stopped for a pit stop. As we drove home, I tried to join severe coverage on KSAL, talking about what we had witnesed, but my calls were dropped twice while I was on live, a bad ending to a frustrating chase.

June 20, tornados all around!

I was suprised when I saw SPC's convective outlook at 8:30 am. showing a slight risk circle in central Kansas with a 10% tornado 0% hail probability! Their text stated excellent low level instability and shear with minimal mid level instability. It had showered during the late morning but by mid afternoon the skies cleared with some broken sunshine. Jeremy and I were working on my semi trailer in the shop. I was watching my lap top radar off and on while working in the shop and by late afternoon a storm popped up SW of Wichita and became severe warned. It moved NE and later became tornado warned SW of the Topeka area. Soon new storms devoloped NW of Wichita and became severe warned. A tornado warning was issued for Rice and Reno Counties with a storm moving NE. Jeremy, Meghan and I decided to chase this storm. We loaded up at home and started out. At this time a second tornado warning was issued for Barton County on a storm that was doing damage in Great Bend moving directly towards us. We opted to switch to this storm. Chase partner Jason called and said that he was headed for McPherson to get ahead of the Rice County warned storm. We did not drive more than 15 miles when the Barton County storm divided and weakened and the warning was dropped early. This left us out of position to get on the Rice County storm that now was moving directly towards McPherson. McPherson was now under a tornado warning. Jason called stateing that he saw a wall cloud just west of town. We could see a bright velosity couplet with this storm just west of McPherson. At this time we were driving thru heavy rain and winds on Highway 4 towards Lindsborg. I relayed Jason's wall cloud report to KSN and then joined KSAL's coverage of the severe storms. Jason called and told Jeremy that he had been hit. We thought the storm had hit him but it turned out to be another vehicle!! The small car crossed the center line and hit him head on. He tried to get out of the way to no avail. I continued with KSAL's storm coverage but now was driving to the accident scene. I was allowed on the scene to retrieve personal equipment from Jason's vehicle. At this time we found out that he was transported to Hutchinson Hospital. We then stopped out storm coverage and went to the hospital. On the way we discovered that the old Barton County storm had redevolped and was dropping tornadoes in the SE Lincoln County area just 7 miles NW of where I live!! All in all just a very tough chase day. Jason will be alright but it will take time to mend.

June 25, severe thunderstorm warning, southern Ellsworth then Saline county. Spotting from the combine!