Heat Builds in the West; Extremely Critical Fire Weather in the Northwest

A heat wave over the Southwest will intensify this week, peaking and expanding into the Intermountain West and northern High Plains this weekend. Critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions are forecast from the Northwest and the northern Great Basin this weekend. Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warnings have been issued. Read More >

NWS damage survey crews have investigated the tornadic storm damage across Jewell and Mitchell Counties and have rated the tornado an EF3 at its strongest point. The tornado set down near Glen Elder Dam the night of May 29, 2008 and tracked to the northeast. The tornado had a path length of nearly 18 miles and a width up to one half mile.

The city of Jewell and areas around the city were hit especially hard with major structural damage in the city of Jewell. The water tower was destroyed/collapsed and multiple businesses including the Jewell CAFE and Bourbon Trucking were completely destroyed. Several houses in and south of Jewell sustained major damage.

Additional tornadoes may have occurred in Jewell and Mitchell Counties and this will be investigated over the next few days.

A map of the tornado path and photos of the damage are included below.

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Heat Builds in the West; Extremely Critical Fire Weather in the Northwest

May 29, 2008: EF3 Tornado Crosses Jewell and Mitchell Counties, KS