Storm chaser shares memories of 2019 Linwood tornado
Communities had to rebuild, but luckily no lives were lost. The storm turned out to be one of the most significant in history for the scientific community.
FOX4 Newsletters: Sign up for daily forecasts and Joe's Weather Blog in your inbox
In the six years since the devastating Linwood tornado we've heard from the survivors, who rode out the EF-4 in their homes.
'Had Jesus on my side, I lived through it,' Linwood resident Dennie Roberts, whose wife was killed in Kansas City's 2003 tornado, said.
FOX4 also spoke with thrill seekers who were sent flying in storm chasing tour vans.
'Immediately it just flipped us and we just bounced and rolled and banged like metal for what seemed like forever,' Jeff Lieberman said on the tornado's first anniversary.
That day as FOX4 meteorologists were watching the radar and FOX4 crews were first on the scene to the damage alerting first responders to the immediate need extreme meteorologist and storm chaser Reed Timmer and his team were also watching the super cell as it formed south of Lawrence, Kansas.
Timmer shared memories this week on .'
Joe's Blog: So, why has it been so gray lately (WED-5/28)
'It was wrapped in rain and we chased the storm for a little while it produced a brief tornado in the rain and we knew it was gearing up to produce a large one,' Timmer recalled. As the tornado formed Timmer was trying to pull off something he hadn't been able to do before on a storm of its magnitude. The problem was the tornado was rain wrapped.
'You almost have to get into the path of the tornado to be able to see it back in the inflow notch and that's a very dangerous place to be,' Timmer explained.Still they were able to launch a sensor called 'Dorothy' into the mile-wide twister recording wind speeds of 190 miles per hour, and thermodynamics like pressure fall, temperature and relative humidity.
But as the sensor and parachute climbed in the mesocyclone to heights of more than 27,000 feet there was just one problem after the tornado passed and clean up began, finding it. Thankfully, 'Dorothy' was located 30 miles away in Leavenworth, Kansas while pots from Free State growers were found 50 miles away in Smithville, Missouri.
Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android
With that single sensor recovered its the first time they were ever able to get data recovered at 10 times per second. Timmer says hopefully data collected will help go along way in better understanding tornadoes and maybe one day even preventing them.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Android phones helping detect potential earthquakes
(NewsNation) — More and more every day, it seems like smartphones can expand our knowledge on everything, including detecting potential earthquakes. Earthquakes? Yes. Recently, researchers from Google and partner institutions shared results from the Android Earthquake Alerts system. The AEA, over the last three years, has expanded earthquake warning coverage from 250 million people to 2.5 billion in 98 countries. The system sends a signal to Google's earthquake detection server, and the possible location where the shaking occurs. It then analyzes data from phones to confirm that an earthquake is happening, while also estimating its location and magnitude. Two alerts are then sent out: BeAware and TakeAction. Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state. Here is why Wednesday's earthquake was notable 'The system has now detected over 18,000 earthquakes, from small tremors of M1.9 to major quakes reaching M7.8,' according to the research. 'For the events significant enough to warn people, alerts were issued for over 2000 earthquakes, culminating in 790 million alerts being sent to phones worldwide.' 'The impact has been a ~10x change in the number of people with access to EEW systems.' Dating back to March 31, 2024, AEA has issued alerts to Android phones for a total of 1279 events that were detected. Only three were false alarms, with two resulting from thunderstorms. Android phones make up more than 70% of the world's smartphones as of July 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Heat advisory in effect for NYC, Long Island, NJ: How hot it might feel
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The next few days are shaping up to be some of the hottest of the summer, prompting a heat advisory from the National Weather Service. The heat advisory is in effect for multiple counties in New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey, starting at 8 a.m. on Monday and concluding at 11 p.m. on Tuesday. More Local News All five boroughs in the city are expected to have feels-like temperatures in the upper-90s on Monday and over 100 degrees on Tuesday. Nassau and Suffolk County will feel similar as well, according to NWS. Northern New Jersey feels like temperatures may reach over 100 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, the NWS alerts said. To beat the heat, use air conditioning when possible, avoid being outside for too long, or stay away from strenuous work. In New York City, cooling centers will be available for use on both Monday and Tuesday. To find a cooling center near you, click here or call 311. Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Some FirstEnergy customers won't get power until tonight
(WJW) – Power is slowly being restored for some FirstEnergy customers Friday as others are losing it. Several hundred FirstEnergy customers remain without power Friday after overnight outages. Lorain police officer who died following ambush remembered Early Friday morning, more than 6,000 people were without power. According to the FirstEnergy website, the bulk of the outages are in Cuyahoga and Summit counties. Restoration times were pushed back to 11 p.m. for most communities still without power. Summit County saw new outages in several communities late Friday afternoon. Later in the day, a few hundred Green residents were still without power, with restoration expected by 5 p.m. and outages in Akron had been resolved. Other widespread outages in Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Medina, Richland and Trumbull counties have since been resolved. Check restoration times here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
