© The Associated Press
A tornado drops two mile northeast of Niles, Kan., on Wednesday. The large tornado that the National Weather Service said was on the ground for about 90 minutes damaged or destroyed about 20 homes in northern Kansas.
The tornado that raked northern Kansas stayed on the ground about 10 times longer than the typical twister.
A tornado that raked northern Kansas for 90 minutes was impressive both for its classic "wedge" shape and its sheer endurance - staying on the ground about 10 times longer than the typical twister.
The Storm Prediction Center said
most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes and stay on the ground for about 3 1/2 miles. Wednesday's storm
covered 26 miles from near Niles and southeast of Chapman, but was moving so slowly it lasted an hour and a half and was so isolated that other storms never interrupted its air flow.
The SPC said the legendary, long-lived tornadoes talked about from a century ago were most likely a series of storms along one general path.
The twister that hit Kansas tracked eastward at an average speed of 17.3 mph. The slow forward motion gave forecasters plenty of time to warn people living in the area to either get out of the storm's way or take shelter.
The National Weather Service at Topeka warned Chapman's 1,400 residents at 8:06 p.m. Wednesday that the storm was 4 miles west. At the storm's pace, that gave people 15 minutes to prepare. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.
Comment: There were over 25 reports of tornadoes across five states of the U.S. Great Plains on Tuesday, including a rare
'triple touchdown'.
Weather Network Storm Hunter Jaclyn Whittal
stated, "What a day! A day that we may not see for a very long time. We saw multiple tornadoes on this cell that started in Minneola, Kansas and produced every type of tornado type (shape wise) that you could ever imagine."
Study: Extreme tornado outbreaks are increasing
Comment: Are you prepared? For more coverage on recent earthquakes, volcanoes and more planetary upheaval, check out our latest SOTT Earth Changes Summary for April 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs.