National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Significant Winter Storm to Bring Heavy Snow and Ice Impacts; Dangerously Cold Temperatures Expands Across the East

A significant, long-duration winter storm will bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday. Widespread travel disruptions, prolonged power outages, and vast tree damage is likely. Frigid temperatures, gusty winds, and dangerous wind chills will expand from the north-central US to the Southern Plains, MS Valley, and Midwest. Read More >

Overview

Shortly after 10 PM CDT, Sunday, May 19, 2024, a severe squall line, with a history of producing damaging wind gusts, began to move into the western side of the Kansas City Metro. As this line advanced and lifted east-northeast across Johnson County Kansas and into Leavenworth, Platte, Jackson, and Clay counties, several embedded circulations developed. The majority of these resulted in isolated and brief paths of enhanced straight line winds and wind damage. Four of these brief circulations resulted in brief, short-lived tornadoes. The first tornado occurred in central Johnson County KS, near Gardner, a brief EF-1. The second in northwestern Johnson County, in far western Shawnee, KS, resulted in a path of enhanced straight line winds and a brief EF-1 tornado. The second circulation began south of I-435 near Johnson County Community College and resulted in a sporadic path of straight line wind damage before organizing and developing a brief EF-1 tornado as it crossed through the west and northwest side of Prairie Village, KS. The fourth tornado was a very brief EF- 1 in rural portions of southern Leavenworth County Kansas.

Image
Radar Loop From 9:00 PM to 11:30 PM (Base Reflectivity and Base Velocity)