By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A hurricane that made landfall on the west side of Baja California made an impact in Central Kansas late Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Polo, once a Category 5 hurricane, reached the shores of Mexico Monday night, pushing rain and strong weather conditions further into the continental United States. Wednesday, those storms resulted in several confirmed tornados on the ground, including one a half-mile wide twister in northern Barton County.
Polo dissipated into a tropical storm as it crossed over Northwest Mexico Tuesday night, but the resulting rains caused widespread flooding in Arizona on Tuesday. The storms were expected to impact up to 100 million Americans from the Arizona to Iowa.
The strongest portions of Wednesday’s local storms began in Pawnee County. Shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Wichita issued a tornado warning for west-central Barton County, with Albert and Olmitz in the storm’s path. Shortly after that, a tornado warning was issued for northwestern Barton County. Several tornados were spotted in the Susank and Galatia area. At approximately 5:14 p.m., deputies with the Barton County Sheriff’s Office announced the storm had moved into Russell County. At 5:17 p.m., the National Weather Service canceled the tornado warnings for Barton County.
A new tornado warning was issued for Russell County at 5:54 p.m as a tornado was confirmed near the Dorrance area.
No information about damage or injuries, nor the strength of the tornadoes, has been released yet.