June 3, 2004
BY STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle

Hail the size of golf balls pounded wheatfields poised for harvest, and straight-line winds of more than 80 mph derailed 68 railroad cars in Ford County as thunderstorms pummeled southern Kansas on Wednesday morning.

Harper County residents may be hunting for white flags of surrender after pea- and marble-sized hail and 70 mph winds struck the region, already hit twice by tornadoes and once by hurricane-force winds this spring.

"They've been through the gamut lately," National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser said Wednesday.

Out in western Kansas, a microburst about 11:20 a.m. blew off the rails 69 of the 95 empty grain cars linked to a BNSF train traveling from El Paso, Texas, to St. Joseph, Mo. The railroad had been warned by WeatherData of Wichita that high winds were likely, BNSF spokesman Steve Forsberg said.

"This train was in a process of coming to a stop when it was hit by the very strong, straight-line winds," Forsberg said.

A microburst happens when the core of a collapsing thunderstorm rushes to the surface and spreads out rapidly from the storm's center.

Heavy rain and powerful straight-line winds are part of a microburst. Semitrailers and railroad cars are vulnerable to them because of their high profiles.

A semitrailer was blown over on U.S. 56 at about the same time as the derailment, authorities said. The derailed cars piled atop each other in spots, blocking two county roads next to Wright.

"I've been on the Highway Patrol for 18 years, and I've never seen that many cars derailed," said Lt. Randy Mosher. "That's a lot of cars."

Equipment and crews were en route to the derailment scene, Forsberg said. The derailment occurred on a stretch of track with two main lines next to each other, he said. One of the lines was shut down by the incident, he said, but the second was only partially blocked and was to reopen Wednesday night.

No delays resulted from the derailment, Forsberg said.

"It's kind of like having a four-lane freeway, with two lanes going each direction," he said. "When one of those lanes is taken out of service, it slows traffic down, but traffic can still get through."

Golf-ball-sized hail fell on northern portions of Dodge City and hail an inch-and-a-half in diameter fell at the airport. Farmers elsewhere in western Kansas also reported hail, but there wasn't much complaining going on.

"Most of 'em were a whole lot happier about the rain, and not so worried about the hail," said Larry Ruthi, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Dodge City bureau.

Dodge City just finished its driest May on record, with only a quarter of an inch of rain. Those records go back to 1875, when Wyatt Earp was roaming the surrounding prairies.

Wichita's Wednesday was marked by loud thunder, some lightning flashes and a shower around the lunch hour that dropped 0.26 of an inch.

The area's next chance of showers is Friday, forecasters said, with the worst of the weather likely missing Wichita once again.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/8824829.htm