Damage assessment after tornado hits northwest Kansas town; firefighter injured
Tuesday morning:
A tornado caused much property damage but no serious injuries in the northwestern Kansas town of Selden as strong storms raked the area, the National Weather Services said.
One firefighter in Selden suffered minor injuries when a utility pole crashed into the back window of his truck, officials said.
Sheridan County officials reported the tornado hit around 6:30 p.m. Monday, tearing off roofs, crumbling the stone and brick walls of downtown buildings, uprooting trees and crumpling at least one farm silo.
“We know a tornado touched down in Selden,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Neilson in Goodland told the Associated Press early Tuesday. “We have a survey team out there now to assess the damage and should have more information later in the day.”
Neilson said the team will determine the scale of the tornado. Other tornadoes briefly touched down in the region Monday evening, Neilson said, but none of them were in populated areas that caused the damage seen in Selden.
Sheridan County Sheriff Brandon Carver said 38 properties in and around town suffered major damage from the storm, while another 84 suffered minor damage.
Selden had around 211 people in 2019, according to U.S. Census data estimates.
Neilson said residents in northwestern Kansas should be prepared for flash flooding on Tuesday after the storms dumped up to 3 inches of rain in some placed, and more storms could hit the area again starting Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Monday night:
Emergency crews are responding after a tornado hit the town of Selden in northwest Kansas.
The Sheridan County Sheriff’s Department reported a tornado on the ground a few miles west of town a little after 6 p.m. Monday. The tornado was later reported in Selden, according to local storm reports from the National Weather Service.
“Emergency manager reporting buildings, power lines and trees down, homes damaged, an overturned semi, 1 possible injury, and gas leaks due to tornado,” the updated NWS storm report from around 6:26 p.m. states.
Trooper Tod Hileman of the Kansas Highway Patrol asked people to avoid the Selden area as some roads may be shut down. He said in a tweet that several semi trucks and train cars were blown over by the tornado.
NWS Goodland reported several western Kansas counties placed under tornado warnings as storms passed through. In addition to damaging tornadoes, weather forecasters also predicted high-speed winds and hail the size of golf balls.
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 8:51 PM.