The weather system that prompted concern was an unusual one, and was so large that the weather service issed warnings 24 hours in advance. This is the first time they've done that within the memory of most of the current talking-head weathermen on local TV channels, and it got them really excited with the result that all TV programming on all the channels we can get was preempted for "weather news."

(Having nothing but weather to watch was not much different than having nothing but the regular programming to watch.)

An unusual aspect of this storm system was that the whole system was showing "ground speeds" of up to 50 mph. Normal is "up to" about half that.

The storm system had a very predictable "trajectory" as is pretty much the usual case even with smaller ones here, so it was fairly easy to "see it coming" in the places where there was damage. Occasional checks during the day - and most of the night - made it easy for us to be fairly relaxed about it, although Lin began making plans (for me) to build us a proper storm shelter.

The areas where damage was reported in Wichita were all on the south "fringes," and the place hit worst appears to have been a "trailer park" on the southwest fringe of the city. There was enough debris there that emergency responders were forced to "walk things in and out" (as much as about 1/2 mile - 1 km) and there were reports of downed (live) electricals and "probable gas leaks." A concern there was that numerous "elderly" persons, most of whom were not injured needed help just to get out of the damaged area.

Damage reported east of there was "isolated" according to early reports, with varying damage reports ("the house is fine but the garage is gone" kind).

There has been no confirmation in either of the two places reporting the most damage that the damage was actually due to a tornado, but the system that went through was displaying "normal winds" of up to about 70 mph, and sporadic gusts higher.

The former Boeing plant, now called "Spirit Aerospace," reported "some damage to all buildings and a couple of roofs gone," but no real details. (Those roofs are football field sized, if actuall "gone.")

The "Airplane Museum" reports that they'll be shut down for "a couple of weeks" to assess and repair damage to planes on exposed exhibit. A KC135 was reported as "ripped loose and turned 180 degrees from its moored position." Hopefully "180 degrees" means it's pointing the other way, and not upside down. (For those unfamiliar, the KC135 is an aerial refueling tanker capable of carrying about 250,000 lb of fuel. The one in question is empty now, we presume.)

There were numerous reports from "spotters" of tornado funnels, but confirmations will require ground-path inspections before we'll really know how many were real. In most places straight winds, very heavy rain, and hail (up to 3" diameter in sporadic reports) did most of the damage known at this time.

Nearest approach to us was about 15 miles. We got brief heavy rain, and some longer periods of lighter stuff. We occasionally heard some thunder, but nothing close enough to worry about lightning damage in our immediate area.

But now the storm system has moved on eastward, and is predicted to remain a threat to places in that direction for as much as 3 or 4 more days.

John