The first inkling of trouble was severe storms moving into and through Jefferson county-KS around 4:30pm-
then the surreal story of a man killed after being struck by lightning while riding his motorcycle in a group along U.S. 24 in southern Jefferson county KS around 4:45pm.Thirty minutes later- a radar-indicated tornado warning was issued for areas southwest of Lawrence around 5:15pm.
Shown here in velocity-mode weather radar images- the circulation inside that severe thunderstorm was clearly evident as the cell moved over Osage into Douglas counties KS..
Osage- Douglas and Jefferson counties were in a tornado watch. Leavenworth county in a severe storm watch.
No tornadoes were reported as the storm moved northeast over Clinton Lake in western Douglas county- then northeast of Lawrence.
This next series of images- compliments of Lawrence.com- shows the rotating wall cloud approaching from the west-southwest then passing about a mile north of downtown Lawrence.
This storm could have dropped a tornado at any time (Notice the Bowersock Dam on the Kansas River in some of the images- click-on them for full size).
The weather radar image from around the same time the photos were taken indicates a general rotation northwest of Lawrence- the direction the photos were taken.
However a tighter- stronger rotation had developed just southeast of Lawrence. 
This part of the storm would drop the tornado in southwestern Leavenworth county around 6:30pm- about 10 minutes after the last photo was taken.
Channel 9 had their news chopper up- and a reporter and cameraperson travelling west toward Lawrence on the Kansas Turnpike/I-70 when the tornado formed near the Lawrence Service area- around 238th Street and Loring Road.
While the helicopter brought Channel 9 viewers live pictures of the funnel swirling across the countryside- the reporter and cameraman in the station vehicle below were forced to pull over on the Turnpike and take cover in a ditch as the tornado moved along the Interstate.
The funnel missed them and at least 3 other travelers who took cover in nearby ditches filled with rainwater. No one was injured either on the Turnpike or in any of the reported 6 homes struck by the twister.
A Leavenworth couty emergency spokesperson said the damage was mostly minor at the 6 homes. There were outbuildings and vehicles on those properties damaged or destroyed however. Power was knocked out for around a thousand customers in the area.
The funnel lifted for good just west of Bonner Springs in the vicinity of 188th Street & Metropolitan.
The tornado-bearing part of the storm then moved eastward- toward thousands sitting out a delay race at the Kansas Speedway. Officials herded thousands of fans still at the track into tornado shelter areas until the storm passed.
The storm weakened over the Metro- then again produced tornado warnings and a tornado near the Cameron-MO airport. There were no reports of injuries or damage there.
All in all an exciting Saturday evening weather-wise in the Metro.
Could Sunday evening be a repeat? Stay tuned....
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