Twin tornadoes heading into the Dodge City Kansas area while tornado warning sirens blare on May 24, 2016. This is Part 3 in a three part series documenting this extraordinary tornado outbreak. Over a dozen tornadoes including 2 EF3's and one EF2 touched down near Dodge City. No fatalities occurred and two victims with critical injuries were eventually released from the hospital.
The average tornado victim doesn't follow radar apps and forecast tools all day, rather they are going about their daily business when tornado warnings are issued. Most people seek shelter and then information but some take to the streets disoriented, desperate to check on loved ones and property. Others take to the streets to assist, spot and report, while others try to catch their glimpse of the rare phenomenon occurring. Near tornadoes, drivers eyes are often drawn to the sky in search of danger rather than focusing on traffic. This makes chasing tornadoes through populated areas extra dangerous!
MASS STORM CHASER CONVERGENCE SET-UP!
The last two weeks of May attract more storm chasers to the Plains then any other time to coincide with the annual mean peak tornado frequency. Sight seers from all over the world flock to storms here (and spend a lot of money) hoping to witness a tornado spectacle. On May 24th, the Storm Prediction Center hatched a 10% chance of tornadoes with the possibility for significant tornadoes in a relatively small bullseye in southwest Kansas. Just after 5 PM this day, an isolated storm exploded inside this bullseye and soon after went tornado warned. Hoards of sight seers and storm chasers new exactly where to be. A slow moving cyclic supercell spawned a dozen highly visible tornadoes attracting more and more people by the second. Passers by, sight seers, locals, storm chasers and all their grandmas were pointing cameras at the awesome spectacle. I'd like to point out that twice during this chase I ran into traffic. The first jam was created on a backroad as a local Sheriff was blocking hungry storm chasers from getting their close ups in order to maintain order and rely information. The second bought with traffic was heading north on highway 283 into Dodge City. Hundreds of storm watchers had all pulled their vehicles well off the road but two truck drivers in semis were slowly creeping along watching the tornadoes while driving instead of pulling over. Once I passed them, the streets were clear.
At 6:30 PM a tornado emergency was declared for Dodge City area.
Just west of Dodge City, power was knocked out as tornadoes snapped trees and damaged power lines. A tractor trailer was overturned blocking a highway and several homes and structures were destroyed. A home in Ensign was destroyed and a victim with critical injuries had to be extracted. Officials confirmed 9 structures damaged in the EF3 that came w/in a few miles of hitting Dodge. Several homes and buildings were destroyed in the Dodge City area, although Dodge City was spared. A large propane tank was leaking gas and a stock trailer was blown nearly 3 miles according to local reports. An oil take was also blown over. Crews immediately begin searching homes.
The orchestra of tornado sirens heard in this video is the actual sound of Dodge City's multiple tornado sirens harmonizing.
