Tornado sirens sounded in parts of Sumner County late Thursday night. And then again early Friday morning, this time including several sirens in Sedgwick County including parts of Derby and east Wichita. The Tornado Warnings had been issued in parts of Sumner County, but there was no Tornado Warning issued for Sedgwick County.
According to Sedgwick County dispatchers, the storm in Sumner County caused the tornado sirens to activate at the Kansas Star Casino shortly after midnight. This activated sirens in a zone that included sirens in Derby and Wichita.
Sedgwick County Emergency Management has reported they have now separated the six sirens in and around Mulvane, including the KS Star, into their own zone. Those sirens will sound if the warning is issued for SE Sedgwick or NE Sumner, but a NE Sumner Co. warning will no longer activate any sirens other than those in the Mulvane zone.
As a storm rolled into Kansas from Oklahoma the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for parts of Haprer and Sumner Counties just before 11 p.m. Thursday night. That warning was allowed to expire, but another was shortly issued just before 11:30. Around 11:50 the NWS recieved a report of a tornado 5 miles west of Corbin in Sumner County. Emergency Management in Sumner County then reported a tornado on the ground near 80th and South Bluff road just after midnight.
At that time a storm chaser called in a report of a tornado 5 miles SW of Mayfield in Sumner County. The NWS issued another Tornado Warning for northern Sumner County. This was the Warning that triggered sirens in Wichita and Derby. As the storm continued north a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Sedgwick County just before 12:30, noting the radar indicated a potential for 1 inch hail. That warning was allowed to expire just before 1 a.m.
Storms continued to roll into Kansas through Harper and Sumner Counties. Then just after 2 a.m. radar began indicating the potential for 50-60 mph winds and a gust at 51 mph was measured at Eisenhower National Airport. The NWS then issued a Severe Thunderstorm warning for portions of Butler, Cowley, Sedgwick, and Sumner Counties, which was allowed to expire in just over a half hour. There were reports of dime sized hail in Augusta.