By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Salina Post
As the air grows chillier, the chance for severe weather remains — north-central Kansas will likely see heavy rain, wind gusts of about 60 mph, and possibly a tornado on Thursday afternoon and evening.
The Wichita National Weather Service also reported a chance of hail on Thursday and warned residents of the Kansas-Nebraska state line to be weary.
NWS meteorologist Eric Metzger said residents in the state's north-central region should prepare their storm-safe rooms and check their storm-warning systems for the end of this week.
"Some people, myself included, when winter comes along, my safe place is often occupied with storage," Metzger said. "(Residents) need to make sure that they have multiple ways to receive warnings. Whether it be the weather radio, your phone, television, or whatever, just keep an eye out."
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Metzger said the current predictions indicate this storm will produce low-level shear, which occurs when wind speed and direction change rapidly low to the ground — often an ingredient for tornadoes.
If predictions of this storm continue in the weather outlook, Metzger said the event will likely look like a familiar Kansas summer storm, beginning as isolated pockets and turning to a squall line over the rest of the state.
Those isolated pockets of storms are where most tornadic activity happens in a storm, with the squall line often causing straight-line wind damage instead.
"The little discreet cells that are by themselves, those are the ones that tend to produce the big tornadoes — Andover was an example of that, Hesston was an example of that, and Greensburg too," Metzger said. "But the environment, even if we get those discrete elements, I don't see the environment necessary to produce a tornado of that strength."
If necessary, the Storm Prediction Center will produce a thunderstorm watch over the next few days, warning residents to be alert. The Wichita NWS has thunderstorm warnings in discreet locations during the storm, which would indicate taking shelter from weather conditions.
Metzger stressed the need to prepare for severe weather, especially after prediction centers issue watches or warnings.
"The way it should be viewed is that once the watch comes out, it's game on — it's time to pay attention," Metzger said. "When we punched the warning, it's here, and if you have an action plan, you execute it.