Central Kansas: May 9, 2023
Starting a 3-day chase trip with low expectations, central Kansas lit up yesterday. I didn’t even leave Oklahoma City until 2 p.m., but I had more than enough time to chase a few storms.
Several elevated supercells formed on the cool side of an outflow boundary Tuesday afternoon and evening. The first storm I documented was a dominant supercell moving toward St. John. The slow moving storm featured striated structure and produced quite a bit of hail.
The initial storm evolved into a cluster of storms. I headed south, as a new semi-discrete supercell formed west of Pratt. The storm moved directly over Pratt, hitting the town with large hail.
Chasing was over yet, as I shifted north to watch yet another storm near St. John, this time as the sun was beginning to set. At this moment, the storm was gradually weakening and I was ready to call the chase off.
The upper level pattern looks favorable for additional severe thunderstorms across the central United States today, tomorrow and potentially Friday as well. Beyond that, an anomalous upper level ridge is forecast to build across the West and into southwestern Canada. The result will likely be 5-7 days of little to no severe thunderstorm activity over the Great Plains.
