April 13, 2026

Target: Ottawa, Kansas

Left Kansas City in the early evening with the intent to move down I-35 toward Ottawa as a developing supercell moved northeastward toward that location. The storm moved right just north of I-35, and moved toward Pomona, Kansas. Here, it produced a brief tornado near Quenemo, Kansas. As the storm moved westward along HWY 68 it produced a longer-lived tornado just west of Ottawa, Kansas, where it did EF-2 damage to the south side of the city. Along HWY 68, the storm produced another EF-2 tornado just west of Hillsdale, Kansas, which did damage to several structures in town. As I drove eastward along HWY 68 I saw numerous power flashes in the dark as the tornado went through Hillsdale. We ended the chase near Louisburg, Kansas, as it lost it’s supercell characteristics.

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