Damaging Winds Blast Lawrence March 12th, 2006

Severe Weather and Heavy Rain for the Plains and Mid-Atlantic; Building Heat in the West

Severe thunderstorms will remain possible in the Mid-Atlantic through Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain will also be possible in the central/southern Plains on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hazardous heat will linger across the southern U.S. and build across the West through mid-week. Hot and dry weather will create Elevated to Critical fire weather conditions in the Four Corners Region. Read More >

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS SURVEYED THE WIND DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF LAWRENCE AROUND 8 AM CST, MARCH 12. THE LARGE AREA OF WIND DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MICROBURST OF 70 TO 90 MPH STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

MICROBURSTS ARE VERY STRONG WINDS THAT QUICKLY DESCEND FROM THE BASE OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND THEN SPREAD OUT QUICKLY UPON IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. THESE STRAIGHT LINE DAMAGING WINDS CAN CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE ACROSS A LARGE AREA.

VIDEO RECEIVED SO FAR TAKEN IN LAWRENCE SHOW THE SUDDEN DOWNBURST FROM THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM BASE AND THE FANNING OUT OF THE DOWNBURST AS IT HITS THE GROUND, WHICH ALSO CAUSED WIDESPREAD BLOWING DUST.

Severe Weather and Heavy Rain for the Plains and Mid-Atlantic; Building Heat in the West

Damaging Winds Blast Lawrence March 12th, 2006 - NWS Topeka, KS