LJWorld.com / Tornadoes strike across state; home destroyed near Mulvane

Archive for Sunday, June 13, 2004

No injuries immediately reported from Saturday storms

The Associated Press

June 13, 2004

Mulvane — Tornadoes Saturday hit southern Kansas, destroying one home and damaging another, overturning cars and and downing power lines.

No injuries were immediately reported.

The owners of the destroyed home south of Mulvane were out of town, a relative told The Wichita Eagle, and their two teenage daughters were not at home when the tornado -- one of at least six that touched down in the area south of Wichita -- hit around 7:30 p.m.

Harland Tecenka, who lives just east of Mulvane told The Eagle he was cutting wheat a few miles southwest of the town when he saw a funnel cloud.

"The first was a dark one," Tecenka said. "Then we saw the light funnel come down. It looked real thin and looked like it was going to go back up. Then it widened out."

Tecenka said the tornado missed his home by less than a mile.

"From our vantage point, at the very beginning, it was very small, circular, tubelike. Then it expanded," he said. "It looked like it gained momentum."

Kansas Highway 15 in Sumner County was blocked by debris, the Mulvane Police Department said.

Authorities in Cowley County reported two tornadoes. Another was reported southeast of Haysville, and still another briefly touched down near Conway Springs.

In extreme southeastern Kansas, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said a tornado touched down briefly in a rural area of the county. There was no word on damage or injuries.