April flurries? Say it ain’t snow
Resident says he spotted funnel in Thursday storm; officials say no rotation confirmed locally or by weather service
By JODIE GARCIA and By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Staff Writers
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On the heels of a powerful storm that brought damaging winds to Franklin County Thursday is a not-so-expected Saturday forecast — snow.
A slight chance of rain and snow showers is predicted before 1 a.m. Saturday, followed by a slight chance of rain showers and then a chance of snow showers before 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service of Topeka.
Temperatures are expected to drop to a low of 34 degrees tonight with winds between 15 and 20 mph and gusts as high as 30 mph. Saturday’s temperatures are expected to reach a high of 44 degrees, dropping to a low of 30 Saturday night with blustery winds between 15 and 20 mph and gusts as high as 25 mph.
Following Thursday’s storm, some wind damage and downed power lines were reported in western Franklin County between Pomona and Ottawa, Alan Radcliffe, Franklin County emergency management director, said.
He said a tree reportedly fell on a car in the Richter area, a propane tank south of Centropolis blew over and power lines in three or four locations were damaged.
“We got lucky,” he said. “The storm went to the north of us.”
Gene Hirt, Williamsburg, said he was driving along John Brown Road at Delaware Road when a small funnel dropped out of a cloud, bounced onto the ground and broke the pole in front of his truck as he approached.
“It was 60 feet away from me,” Hirt said. Hirt, who said he was a trained tornado spotter in Iowa, said it was a funnel.
“I know what I was seeing,” he said. “Even when I was a spotter, that was the closest I’ve been to a tornado.”
He said he called 911 and that the funnel moved northeast along Old 50 before it pulled up into the cloud.
Radcliffe said there was no rotation in the storm, and he confirmed that with the National Weather Service. He said officials with the weather service said they had received several calls from people reporting funnel clouds.
Hirt said he stayed at the scene to alert any motorists because the broken pole was hanging by its wires about two feet above the road.
When two deputies arrived, the pole broke completely landed on the ground, snapping the wires in two, he said.
“There were sparks everywhere,” Hirt said. “One hollered ‘Get the hell out of here.’
“I turned around and went.”
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