Saturday evening storm surprises Logan County

[June 29, 2009]  One week later, one more time, another sneak attack came from the skies over Logan County. Saturday evening many residents may not have noticed as skies darkened with the end of day that some of that darkness was a big storm rolling in. Just past 8:30 p.m. powerful, gusty winds began sweeping their way through Lincoln. It was 9:20 p.m. when it reached Latham.

The passing of two fronts -- one warm, one cold -- created sassy, strong gusts switching directions 180 degrees in seconds, followed by bouts of heavy rain, plenty of lightning and thunder, all of which lasted a good 20 or more minutes. Meanwhile, many residents sat in the dark with nothing much to do but watch and listen to Mother Nature's rant as power was knocked out in many areas by the early precursor gusts.

Dan Fulscher from Logan County Emergency Management Agency said that new technology allowed him to see the gust factor that prefaced this storm by about seven minutes. With reports from areas to the northwest, the point of origin, that strong winds accompanied the storm, Fulscher gave the order to sound the sirens.

Logan County communities reported sustained winds and gusts at 60 mph, with top gusts of 70 mph. Damage or downed power lines were reported in Hartsburg, Burton View, Mount Pulaski, Chestnut, Latham and Lincoln.

The last major storm also involved darkness, but was on the other edge of daylight when it struck at approximately 5:30 a.m. on June 18. The results were much the same for that storm that came out of the west. The city of Lincoln was most affected by that storm, which featured high winds, brief heavy rains, lightning and thunder. It knocked out power, cell phone and Internet communications for up to two days in some areas of Lincoln.

The area may now get a bit of a reprieve and some time to enjoy this new summer. The National Weather Service has forecast cooler temperatures, milder weather and no rain for the rest of this week, though it may get a bit windy today and tomorrow. In summary, today is expected to be sunny, with low to mid-80-degree temperatures, a "breezy day expected, gusting up to 35 mph." The rest of this week will have like temperatures but feature less sun.

NWS area weather discussion:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=
ILX&product=AFD&issuedby=ILX&glossary=1

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]