‘Looked like a dust devil’: Tornado damages several homes in southern Johnson County
A tornado touched down in southwestern Johnson County briefly on Monday afternoon, causing minor damage to area homes and knocking down several trees in its path.
The events began shortly after the National Weather Service issued a warning to Johnson County residents telling them to seek shelter. No injuries were reported as of Monday evening, said Don McClurg, a captain with Johnson County Fire District 2.
Shortly before 4 p.m., the weather service issued tornado warnings for parts of Miami and Johnson counties in Kansas as severe thunderstorms rolled into the metro area Monday afternoon.
The National Weather Service later said on Twitter that law enforcement had reported a tornado touching down near 199th Street and Switzer Road in rural southeast Johnson County, just south of Overland Park. Other tornado warnings were also issued for parts of Cass and Jackson counties in Missouri, shortly after a severe thunderstorm was spotted seven miles east of Spring Hill in southern Johnson County.
In its alert, the weather service warned flying debris would be dangerous to those caught without shelter. The storm posed a threat to mobile homes, roofs, windows, vehicles and trees.
By Monday evening, photographs and videos from southern Johnson County were posted on social media showing downed trees, damaged rooftops and broken fences. Some in the area of 193rd Terrace and Antioch Road had already begun repairing the damage done. As the sun came out and the rain trickled off, neighbors conversed and picked up debris as roofing companies flocked to the area.
Bob Applequist, a resident of Johnson County whose barn was damaged by the high winds, said he watched the storm front move in. He said it “looked like a dust devil” as it began to suck up tree branches and other debris.
He and his wife, Barbara, grabbed their Boston Terrier and took shelter in the basement of their home. As they hunkered down, Applequist said, the storm sounded like a freight train rolling through.
When the couple emerged from their basement, they found their mailbox had been ripped from its post and strewn across the yard. The garage wall was detached from its foundation. Fencing was ripped away and bent at odd angles.
And the metal sheets on the west side of their red barn had been torn off. Pieces of the roof were blown across the street or wrapped in a tree.
“We don’t know where the doors are,” Applequist said as he stared toward the barn near his pond.
The doors were later located — one was taken by the wind not far away and another crumpled inside the barn. And their neighbor retrieved what Applequist said was his favorite lounge chair, though it was slightly mangled.
“Thankfully no one’s hurt,” Applequist said. “It can all be repaired.”
Other social media posts captured in the area showed some highly unusual leftovers in the wake of the storm — including a double rainbow. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office shared a photograph of quarter-sized pieces of hail found near 191st Street and Ridgeview Road.
McClurg, with the fire district, said crews were out conducting structural damage assessments. So far, the damage surveyed was to roofs, siding, shingles and fences.
Neither the weather service nor area authorities reported any other tornado touchdowns in the Kansas City metropolitan area on Monday evening.
Storm radar initially indicated that there was rotation in the clouds, exposing several cities to the possibility of a tornado. Those weather warnings included possible threats to Overland Park, Olathe, Leawood, Spring Hill and Stanley among others.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 8:22 PM.
