Medicine Lodge Tornado - 12 May 2004
by Frederick C. Kruse III
Tornado at 714 pm about 5 miles south of Medicine Lodge
Same Tornado at 720 pm
Tornado with dust column at 722 pm
Chase Discussion
Kyle Poage, a forecaster at Topeka, Kansas, and I chased these thunderstorms and tornados on the early evening on 12 May 2004. This one lasted from 714 pm to 722 pm and was estimated about 5 miles south of Medicine Lodge, Kansas. After this tornado dissipated we then went north from Medicine Lodge and followed a large thunderstorm and lowering north toward Pratt. Needless to say we did not see anymore tornados and missed several that formed near Sharon, Kansas and Attica, Kansas later after our first tornado. There was a tongue of high dewpoints that were pooling along a stationary cold front with 35 to 45 knots at mid levels. The storms were slow movers maximizing mid level storm relative shear.