[KCDXC] Fwd: Survived the tornado

[Mike ZooLoo]

I composed this for friends and relatives.  Thought
you folks might be interested also. 73 Paul, KC0JCQ



It was a very interesting day/evening.  I was
returning home from one of Nathan's soccer games South
of Olathe.  My daughter called me on the cell
and told me to contact the Emergency Operations Center
(EOC)on the short-wave radio.  I did and was told that
the weather spotters (about half of them are amateur
radio operators) were called out to their spotter
locations.  I met the Leavenworth County Emergency
Coordinator at the door of the EOC.  By the time I had
started the paperwork and logged on a map
the location of our spotters there were "wall clouds"
which are associated with tornados already forming. 
There were two cells that were of concern.  One went
West of Leavenworth and apparently did the damage in
Tracy, MO and the other first touched down right along
I-70 in Leavenworth County and then followed the hiway
East.  One of our guys called in and said that the
tornado was in the field right next to the road he was
driving on.  He was able to get away from it and then
turn around and follow it's path, stopping at several
homes that were destroyed to make sure nobody was
hurt.  His instantaneous reporting facilitated early
warning of other communities and
played a major role in preventing tragic injuries - in
my estimation.  We were able to get relief teams to
exact locations in VERY short order because we knew
exactly where the tornado had gone.  The only thing I
can think of that would have been better is if the
guys had had a GPS unit.  They were in
some areas that only Dorothy and Toto would know.  The
tornado continued East and then turned Northeast
through Parkville, Gladstone and then Liberty.  It
actually continued to bounce up and down all the way
to Richmond.  The base of the tornado varied and was
estimated as wide as 500 yds at one point.

Just thought I would share this with you.

PS:  I did recommend that we double the salary of the
weather spotter - he's a volunteer.

v/r Paul


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