Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Nebraska. Due to serious looal radar attenuation other storms of <br />unknown intensity within tha same line moved through Wiohita, Scott <br />and Lane counties as less-than-severe echoes. <br /> <br />The cloud top aircraft was airbor.ne on jts second flight at <br />7;40 p.m. and first seeded across north-central Finney. Two planes <br />ran out of seeding agent: one at 7:57 p.m., the second at 8:09 p.m. <br />Both were airborne second time: one at 8:43 p.m., the other at 9:15 <br />p.m. Around 8 p.m. other storms had been forming around Lakin, <br />Bolcomb and Gardan city. As all storms moved easterly into more <br />moist air, overall intensifi.cation within the line quickly <br />followed. Cloud intensification was strongest in southwest Finney. <br />The southwest Finney storm moved across most of Haskell County and <br />a southwest portion of Gray where various sizes of large hail were <br />reported near Copeland; seed1,ng was performed ahead of the line of <br />storms. By 10 p.m., when seeding ended in southern Yaskell and <br />southwestern Gray, the line was oriented B-w across the southern <br />tier of WKWM counties then curved northeast f.rom near Montezuma in <br />southwestern Gray County to western Ford and Hodgeman counties. <br /> <br />The radar went inoperative at 9:18 p.m. and was out until the <br />next morning. The reason for its oocurrence was unknown, but fuses <br />were blown. Despite the lack of radar support, seeding continued on <br />existing storms. The cloud top airoraft seeded until 9:45 p.m.; at <br />9:58 and 1.0:28 p.m. t\~O aloud base aircraft ,ran out of seeding <br />agent leaving the two last aircraft to seed the line in Ford and <br />Gray counties until updrafts became weak at 10;38 p.m. <br /> <br />A little after 10 p;m., visually one could see what appeared <br />to be a very intense storm wi th almost oont,i:nuaus lightning passing <br />ea$terly or southeasterly through Grant County. The Grant storm was <br />northwest of the seeded Raskell storms, not immediately WBst of <br />them. The most likely region of updrafts for the Grant storm <br />probably was opposite of the seeded side of the atorms and too far <br />away to make it feasible to be covered by seeding with the <br />available aircraft. This type of storm, with its characteristic <br />position at the bottom of a line of storms or at significant breaks <br />in lines of storms is seen frequently here and often becomes a <br />severe storm. Typically, its primary updraft area would be on the <br />western, or eVen northwestern sida of of it. Lacking radar support, <br />Buffidient aircraft numbers and the storm nearness to the southern <br />edge of the targat area, seeding could not be done when the <br />condition was thought to be occllrdng. Total fli.ght time was 32.2 <br />hours. <br /> <br />Curtis D. Smith <br /> <br />~~. tJ.k <br /> <br />Program Manager, <br />Western Kansas Weather: Modtflcl'ltion <br />