May 4, 1977 - Day of the Twisters

... The Tornado Outbreak Of MAY 4, 1977 ...

A tornado outbreak in the Kansas City Metro area not experienced for a dozen years prior and not comparable to any until May 3, 2003.

Fourteen F-2 or greater-intensity tornadoes ... five of those in the KC MetroRegion ... occurred on this date in IA, NE, MO and KS.

In the KANSAS CITY MetroRegion alone, there were 3 fatalities with at least four-dozen people injured. It was also the day of this authors' first actual "tornado chase."

 

Next-day story from the Associated Press

*** 1. PLEASANT HILL, MO Tornado ***

On the prior weekend, I had spent that Sunday with a female companion at a pool party at a home of the companion's sister and brother-in-law on Delaware Street in the Baldwin Park area of PLEASANT HILL,MO, a suburban community of (then) around 2,500 people about 25 miles southeast of Downtown KC,MO.. 

I would unexpectedly return to PLEASANT HILL 3 days later and the next weekend, the party's hosts would be cleaning debris from that swimming pool.

Even without detailed weather information now available on the Internet, the author could sense the coming Danger from Weather by a glorious cirrus-filled sunset on May 3rd.

It had been a warm day on an outing at Lake Jacomo ... mid 70s ...with increasing surface winds of a southeasterly component, rapidly-falling barometer and rising dew points.

The sunrise of Wednesday, May 4, 1977 was mostly refracted light ... nimbostratus clouds racing northward ... warm ... around 70 degrees, humid with dew points approaching the air temperature and tropical depression-type south-southeasterly winds, gusting frequently in the 20 to 30 m.p.h. range.

Danger from Weather felt near.

It's my day off as a firefighter/EMT in the KC,MO. Fire Department. Around 11:30 a.m., I pick up a friend from her apartment just blocks south of tornado-famed Ruskin Heights to run some errands.

In LINN County KS, thunderstorms rapidly become severe as they approach southwestern CASS County, MO.. 

As the storms cross the state line, the first in a series of strong tornadoes over western Missouri that day touches down around 11:45 a.m. in a farm field about 5 miles southeast of DREXEL.

While sitting in the car in the parking lot of the Truman Corners shopping center in GRANDVIEW, I watched the dark-bottomed nimbo-type cloud cover racing northeastward - noting a general darkening of the cloud cover south-southwest. 

I switched the AM radio from the country/news station (WDAF '61 Country') off station to "hear the lightning (static)." It's a crude but effective way to monitor nearby storm development (The old U.S. Weather Bureau had a "Sferics (static) Unit" in the early 1950's.). 

Tornadic static sounds like a dozen people with big gravel-filled buckets randomly but constantly pouring the contents onto a tin roof.

Just as we are leaving the shopping center's parking lot, the tornado warning for CASS County is broadcast. 

In mutual agreement - equipped only with a portable 4-channel radio scanner, a mobile Citizen's Band radio and a cheap, 35mm camera with 3 pictures left on the roll, we head south to try and intercept the storm.

The twister alternates from F-2 to F-3 intensity as it skipped perpendicular to state highway Missouri (M)-2, destroying and/or damaging more than a dozen homes and outbuildings. .

On U.S. 71 south of the city of BELTON and with light traffic, I decide to push the fire-engine red 1972 Cutlass a bit past the posted speed limit. 

Even with the overcast, the darkening sky ahead foretold the storm's location. 

South of PECULIAR, an outflow or gust front reveals itself, so I decide it best to pull onto the highway shoulder and allow it's passage.

The thunderstorm supercell with the semi-rain-wrapped tornado move over U.S. 71 just northwest of the county seat of HARRISONVILLE and skirts the north city limits of HARRISONVILLE toward Highway M-291. 

On the south side of a rural road just west of M-291, the tornado strikes and heavily damages several homes, then crosses the highway and takes off the top of a barn.

In bright sunshine and with the darkness of the storm in the proper position ... to our left and ahead ... we exit U.S. 71 onto northbound M-291 in HARRISONVILLE. 

At the north city limits, the cloud cover returns and ahead we see leaning utility poles, then the damaged homes and barn. 

I pull east onto the rural road just long enough to photograph the barn and listen to some bewildered livestock bleating loudly. 

The farmhouse- about 50 feet east of the barn- has only superficial damage.

With rescuers having already arrived at the damaged homes, we continued north on M-291. 

A short distance north of the damage and even though we are behind the tornado itself, we run into torrential rain. 

It is raining so hard I have to turn the AM radio up to almost full volume and 

with the windshield wipers running full speed, a top speed of only 25 to 30 m.p.h. on the 50 m.p.h. highway seemed prudent.

The tornado continues on a more northeasterly track now, paralleling the north-south Highway M-7. 

Now a well- established F-3 multi-vortex, it continued to roll over northeastern CASS County land, damaging and/or destroying farm homes and outbuildings as it neared the southwestern city limit of PLEASANT HILL. 

On an anticipated mutual-aid response, several units from the Northwestern Cass Fire Protection District (now called "South Metro") station in RAYMORE stage on the eastbound lane of M-58 highway about a mile west of town.

As we arrive at the intersection of M-291 and M-58 highways, the torrential rain suddenly becomes a light shower - then ceases altogether. As we head east on M-58, we have yet to see so much as a rotating scud cloud, let alone a funnel. 

The tornado is no-doubt rain-wrapped, but was still well ahead of us. I was thinking now of the hosts of that previous weekend's pool party, for they were both employed by the town's school district. 

Both the scanning and CB radios were useless, I didn't even know if the tornado was still on the ground, let alone that PLEASANT HILL might be hit.

As we approached the hill into the Big Creek valley west of town, I noticed cars and a NWCFPD fire apparatus parked in the eastbound driving lane. 

With no oncoming traffic, I hit the horn and swung out into the westbound lane to pass as one of the firefighters stood on the highway's center line frantically waving his arms trying to warn us of what we already knew was just ahead.

I slowed only a bit as we passed the group, scanning above the treeline as I slowed some more. 

At that moment, we see a semi-sunlit mass of clouds swirling horizontally north to south just ahead and to the right, but STILL no discernible funnel. 

We cautiously continue on a heading to interception at PLEASANT HILL.

Blowing away parts of homes here and outbuildings there, the tornado crossed the southern city limit of PLEASANT HILL at about 10 minutes after noon. 

Moving more north-northeasterly now, the twister crossed Highway M-7 about a half-mile south-southeast of the downtown area and rode along a ridge to the east of M-7, heading for the PLEASANT HILL high and elementary schools.

At that instant- we had slowly entered the dark and foreboding PLEASANT HILL business district. 

To this day, my impression was that we had just entered an episode of the 'Twilight Zone.' It was dark ... no lights whatsoever ... and no movement of anyone or anything on M-58 or surrounding streets. 

The cloud swirl was over the buildings and trees in front, just to the left of us as we approached M-7. 

We sat for a few minutes at the highway intersection and viewed the devastation along the ridge to the east ... tree trunks stripped of all but the largest main branches and structures with various stages of destruction. 

I watched the swirling clouds ... now moving west to east to our left ... and only then realized the high school was in that very direction.

As the tornado's main vortex approached the high school, hundred of students and faculty there and at the nearby elementary school had been pre-warned of the tornado and were hunkered-down in their tornado drill positions in the lowest floor hallways. 

First to get hit by the tornado was the parking lot on the south side of the high school. 

The force of the wind shattered virtually every window in the two-dozen or so cars in the lot, peeled back hoods and trunk lids on some and moved others against each other. 

One car flipped over onto another as windows in the main high school building a hundred or so feet away started to shatter and pieces of the buildings exterior and roof began to peel away. 

At the gymnasium on the east side, the north and south walls are blown down and portions of the roof fly away. 

At this point, a miracle of sorts happens. 

The main tornado circulation veers right - through the open athletic fields between the two schools, mangling and blowing away chain-link fences, bending fence posts and light standards to 45-degree angles, but avoiding a direct hit on either school. 

(A student at the elementary school at the time has her recollection of the tornado HERE.)

Still, moderate to heavy damage was done to both buildings. 

The tornado strengthened slightly north of the schools in a residential area containing Delaware Street, then the vortex continued on for another couple of miles before lifting back into the parent storm near County Road VV.

I fear the worst as we approach the bottom of the hill from the high school and see the damage. I pull the car onto the shoulder and into a large puddle, killing the engine.

With the rotating cloud unrecognizable as a funnel still visible and moving to the northeast, we run up the hill to offer what aid we could.

Virtually every south-facing window in the high school building had been blown out, with many of the several hundred students and teachers in the building climbing out of shattered lower-story windows.

Before we approached the building, I took several photos of the observed damage in the parking lot, then stopped short.

It was deja-vu - the gymnasium had concrete and steel arches - built almost exactly alike the Ruskin High School gym that was destroyed in the 1957 tornado.

Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper E.J. Horne arrived several minutes after we did and witnessed the utter chaos. Attempts were already underway to round up and account for the many dozens of students crawling out the battered high school.

Many headed for the lone police car, some bleeding from cuts by flying glass and nearly all speckled by bits of building debris & insulation.

Trooper Horne listened to whatever information he could get about casualties and radioed those reports back to the MHP Troop A headquarters in LEES SUMMIT.

Around 12:20 p.m. as I talked with the trooper facing and surveying the damaged building, I turned around to look south and see clearly ... a second funnel cloud hanging down backlighted by a clear area in another storm cell.

Trooper Horne jumped in his cruiser and radioed the sighting as I asked students where an appropriate shelter might be located. That was the basement of the First Baptist church, several blocks west of the school.

I yelled for those around the trooper's car to come on and we ran down the hill to my car ... just then remembering the motor had had died when I drove into the large puddle.

With relief, the engine came to life as the half-dozen or so students crammed into and on the Cutlass and we headed without delay to the church.

We arrived in the midst of more chaos as people were pouring into the area of the church by foot and by vehicle. With no parking spaces nearby, I parked in the front yard of a home next to the church and we ran inside.

The church's basement was quite large, from what I could see there were at least two big rooms and a walled-off kitchen. In the one large room inside the door where we had entered stood dozens of adults and kids, many of whom were talking loudly with more than a few crying.

I scanned the many terror-stricken faces for hopes of seeing the hosts of the pool party I had attended, to no avail.

It was then that rescuers brought in two unconscious and appearing to be sandblasted persons on makeshift stretchers of storm-detached doors, laying them down on the floor just inside the door, then leaving.

My friend and I stood in a narrow space between frightened school children and the injured. The crying was starting to turn to wailing and it was involving more of the kids.

It was time to act.

I stood on a chair and in the loudest voice I could muster, asked for everybody's attention. Among scattered sobs, the room became amazingly quiet.

I first asked for anybody with first aid training to come forward, then asked if the teachers and older teens would move the younger children into the adjoining room so as not to view the two bloody and torn victims.

Several persons stepped up to help and we carefully moved the injured on their make-shift stretchers into the closed off kitchen. I instructed my friend what we needed to do for the injured ... considering we had no equipment ... and she calmly helped instruct the others as well as offer her aid.

We monitored the two persons' pulses and breathing - keeping them still until regular EMS people arrived about 15 minutes later and took the patients away.

We had forgotton about the 2nd funnel cloud. One of the medics assured me that it had moved away east of town.

We left the church basement into bright, warm sunshine. We made our way back to M-7 and turned north. Before leaving town however, I decided to turn down Delaware Street to check on the house where the pool party had been held.

"Good God" was all I could say as we approached the house. It had suffered mostly cosmetic damage, but all the houses to the east were much more severely damaged with one house at the end of the street completely blown away, leaving only a clean concrete slab.

Seeing enough, we headed back to M-7 and north - past the police roadblock that had now been set up with a growing line of civilian vehicles, emergency and news crews trying to get into town- and headed back to K.C..

Two persons were killed in the PLEASANT HILL tornado that day ... one in a mobile home near the Highways M-7 and M-58 junction and one in a house in the Baldwin Park area.

Twelve of the 15 total injured were in PLEASANT HILL, where twenty-five homes and 17 mobile homes were destroyed and an additional 56 homes ... plus the schools ...were damaged.

Damage totaled more than $3,000,000.

The tornado's total path was surveyed at nearly 30 miles long with an average width reported to be 500 yards. The storm was officially rated as a strong F-3 on the FUJITA scale.

However, a house at the end of Delaware Street had been swept completely clean off its concrete foundation - that was at least F-4 damage. It had been a newer, well-built brick and wood-framed ranch home and in retrospect, it well may have been where one of the fatalities occurred.

*** 2. ODESSA - HIGGINSVILLE,MO tornado ***

From the same series of storm cells that produced the PLEASANT HILL tornado, an F-3 dropped from the sky just east of ODESSA in LAFAYETTE County, MO about 1:15 p.m. CDT.

The tornado moved northeast across Interstate 70, through HIGGINSVILLE and on to the vicinity of WAVERLY,MO.

Near ODESSA, the occupant of a trailer was killed.

In HIGGINSVILLE, 100 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged.

The path length was 26 miles and the average width 100 yards.

Five persons were injured.

*** 3. SEDALIA,MO tornado ***

Storm that produced the Sedailia tornado as viewed west of Whiteman AFB near Knob Noster MO 

This F-3 tornado touched down around 1:30 p.m. 9 miles southwest of SEDALIA and went through that PETTIS County community of about 30,000 people before lifting 2 miles northeast of SEDALIA.

Among destroyed businesses was a golf course's pro shop and country club in the southwest portion of the city. 

Approximately 150 homes were destroyed with 300 more damaged. Several schools were damaged, causing two of the schools to be closed for the short-remainder of the school year.

There were no fatalities, but twenty-four persons were injured, five seriously.

The path length was 11 miles and the tornado was as wide as 700 yards at times with media reports of damage "estimated in the millions of dollars."

"Near F-4 damage" was reported at farms southwest of SEDALIA.

Damaged home at an unknown location in Sedalia MO 

Tornadic thunderstorm supercells continued to explode in western Missouri that Wednesday afternoon. The first F-4 tornado of the day touched ground at 4:40 p.m. near ATHERTON in the Missouri River bottoms of northern JACKSON County.

Moving northeast, the tornado passed mercifully between MISSOURI CITY and ORRICK (see deadly Orrick Tornado of January 1967 HERE), through the southern portions of EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, then to near WOOD HEIGHTS in extreme western RAY County MO where the tornado lifted.

Four homes were destroyed near MISSOURI CITY with 24 homes damaged or destroyed in the EXCELSIOR SPRINGS area.

Two dormitories and a home were destroyed at a church campground. Five persons were reported injured, but no fatalities. The path length was 10 miles with an average width of 350 yards.

A National Weather Service employee later told the author that even though this was an intense tornado, it could not be detected because even at 20 miles away, it was too close to the old WSR-57 radar's dish antenna atop the old Federal building at 9th Street and Grand downtown.

That antenna was soon relocated to a new NWS forecast office at K.C. International Airport, then in the 1990's the WSR-88D Doppler radar antenna site was built at the new NWS forecast office in north PLEASANT HILL.

The second area F-4 tornado of the day developed north of RICHMOND around 5:15 p.m., moving northeast, then east to north of ROCKINGHAM, CARROLLTON and lifted near BRUNSWICK.

While missing those towns head-on, the tornado still damaged over 200 homes, barns and out-buildings.

The tornado's main funnel was on the ground continuously and witnesses reported as many as five smaller funnels touching down at the same time.

The estimated damage was $4,000,000. The path length was 50 miles with an average width of 800 yards.

*** 6. DOUGLAS - JOHNSON County KS - JACKSON COUNTY MO tornado ***

The last area tornado of this outbreak would come just before sunset, uncharacteristically southwest and west of the earlier supercells now in Iowa and northeast to central Missouri.

It would also be the only twister that day to directly threaten and actually strike KC,MO ... as well as the southwestern suburbs of OLATHE and OVERLAND PARK.

The tornado formed about 2 miles northwest of WORDEN in southern DOUGLAS County KS around 7 p.m. CDT. Rated as an F-2, the tornado then moved east-northeast to north of BALDWIN CITY, where a woman was injured when the mobile home she was in was destroyed.

The tornado ... now described by witnesses as "large" ... came into JOHNSON County over mostly farmland 4 miles northwest of Edgerton and on to Lake Olathe. Before moving into OLATHE, the ground circulation lifted into a funnel cloud before moving over the city of then around 40,000 persons..

The storm/funnel cloud moved east-northeast along K-150 (135th Street), briefly touching down in places.

Just after 8 p.m., a Vickers gas station on K-150 (135th Street) west of U.S. 69 was virtually destroyed. Three people sought shelter in a stock room and were uninjured.

A large light pole at the U.S. 69 interchange just east of the station was bent slightly by the force of the winds and the bent pole remained visible and in service for many years afterwards.

A nearby golf course was covered with large hail with trees, utility poles and lines blown down.

The tornado again lifted into a funnel cloud, sighted by a number of law enforcement officers as the storm continued on into KC,MO north of the old MARTIN CITY community on 135th Street.

Around 8:25 p.m. the funnel is reported by police radio "over U.S. 71 and Blue Ridge."

As the report of the funnel over U.S. 71 came in, I was in my friend's apartment - even though we knew the storm would strike the south part of the city for half an hour with plenty of time to drive well north of the area.

Since the apartment was on the ground floor with a walled, interior bathroom, we elected to ride it out there. With the police radio scanner, pillows and blankets went into the bathtub along with my friend.

Scattered hailstones the size of baseballs began falling. Hearing the hail, I cautiously went to peek out the patio door.

Sliding open the glass, the air was filled with the same sulpheric odor that I remembered during the 1966 OVERLAND PARK tornado's storm.

Hearing a faint "whooshing" noise, I stepped out from the patio and looked northwest. Blocks away ... illuminated by the city lights ...a funnel cloud shaped like the 1966 OVERLAND PARK twister rapidly dips down then back up.

I went back to tell my friend what I saw and the scanner confirmed the strike moments later... onto the Ruskin Place apartments at Longview and Blue Ridge.

I immediately went to the scene, met by a KC,MO. police car coming south on Blue Ridge in front of the Ruskin Place.

Laying in the 5-lane roadway was a 3x5-foot section of apartment-building roofing and other scraps of debris. Looking into the complex, a section of wall from a building had fallen toward the street, with the lighted, untouched living room of a 2nd-floor apartment clearly visible.

Windows had been blown out on several units, cutting the occupants by flying glass. Two women were personally helped from the complex, dazed and bleeding from lacerations. They were quickly tended to as first responders arrived within minutes.

In fact, there was such a rapid and large response of KC and GRANDVIEW emergency agencies I quickly departed back to the apartment before a complete assessment of injuries or damage was made.

What damage I did see was consistent with an F-1 rating. The Ruskin strike is not listed in "official" records of this particular tornado. If the Ruskin-area totals are counted, at least 3 persons were injured with a damage estimate around $250,000 in 1977-value-dollars.



All in all, May 4, 1977 was a day that we in the Kansas City MetroRegion hope never happens again.


But someday, it shall.


(NOTE: If you experienced any portion of this tornado outbreak- please share your memories in the comment section below.)

Note To Self: Delete Certain Blog URL

I sure most of you locals know- but you out-of-towners who read this blog are not aware.

There is a blogger here in KC - and for what reason he seems to be such a 'media darling' I dunno - has to put a racial slant on virtually EVERY news story he reports.

The final straw for me today was reading his take on the Ward Parkway Mall shootings yesterday.

Evidentally he didn't SEE the numerous folks of VARIOUS colors there. I sure as hell did.

I cover the weekend overnight desk for one of the TV stations here. Been doing it for 17 years now.

I CAN ASSURE YOU that speaking for myself and all the folks I work with - we don't 'blow-off' ANY Human Being being murdered.

Yes Mr. Racist Blogger - I grieve for senselessly murdered PEOPLE - regardless of color, race or creed.

Yes, I'm a white man.

The ancestors of our family moved to the USA in the 1880's - AFTER The Civil War. My grandfather - of German stock - ALWAYS told us that all people are the same under the skin. The dear man lived in the 4100 block of Flora until he died in 1980. He'd fix kid's bikes - black kids - they'd call him Grandpa too.

My first best friend was a black kid.

My first crush was on a Hispanic girl (I was buds with her brother - even taught me some Spanish).

I became friends with a fellow from Honduras at a temp job in the 80's. He told me the economic conditions in his country were desperate - he had come to America - like so many others in the past 200 years or so - to try to make a better life for his family back home. I'd buy him lunch from time to time so he'd have more money to send back home.

Am I a bleeding heart liberal? Hell no- I'm a g-damn feeling & compassionate Human Being. Sue me!

Mr. Racist Blogger may one day come to the realization that many of us are in the very same rowboat (economics). We can join up & fight back against the injustices - or just flip the ole race/color card out of the deck and stay divided.


One great American said it best in D.C. in 1963 - and I too look forward to the day when ALL people are not judged by the color of their skin - but of the content of their character.

BREAKING NEWS: KC-MO.

Three people -including the gunman - are reported dead at the Ward Parkway shopping center at 85th St. & Ward Parkway. In addition- there are an undetermined number of injuries.

This is reportedly tied to an incident that occurred just prior - that occurred somewhere on 93th St. - where reportedly a police officer was shot in the arm and another person - unconfirmed yet- is dead at that location.

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, April 29, 2007

*NO MAJOR NEWS METROWIDE OVERNIGHT*

* At 12:14 am- KC-MO agencies got a call to the 1400 block of West 11th Street where they found a male in his early 20's with a stab wound to the back.
There was no suspect information.

* Vacant houses burned in both Kansas Citys - but no one was injured.

* A pedestrian was struck in LAWRENCE, KS around 1:30 am at 11th St. & Tennessee. EMS reported the patient's injuries non life-threatening.
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***OVERNIGHT WEATHER***

Clear skies and temperatures in the upper-50's prevailed overnight.

Most areas will see 80-degree temperatures today and possibly into Tuesday- when the next weather-maker in the form of a cool front moves into the area.

There are some concerns this front may become stationary in our area for the rest of the week - providing several periods of showers and thunderstorms.

Although no severe weather is expected until next weekend at the earliest- heavy rains on top of moist soils could create some flooding problems if slow-moving storms do develop Tuesday night and/or through the rest of the week.

____________________
First with Kansas City Metro- Region Breaking News - KSHB NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, April 28, 2007

***ONE DEAD, ANOTHER NEARLY SO IN S.E. KC, MO. WRECK***

A pickup truck with two occupants left the roadway on one of the curves of Missouri-350 between Noland Road and Bannister sometime before 1:30 am Saturday morning.
One of the occupants ejected from the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The second occupant suffered critical injuries and was taken by ambulance to an area trauma center.
__________________________________________________________

***KC-MO'S LATEST HOMICIDE***

KC-MO police responded to a disturbance with shots fired in the 1600 block of East 43rd Street just before 1 am Saturday morning.
There they found a critically-injured victim of a gunshot- taken to a city trauma center where they later died.
Police were seeking the alleged black male shooter who went by the nickname of "Chopps." Although 3 males were arrested about 10 minutes later at a house in the 4200 block of Highland - it was not known if the suspect was among the arrestees.
_____________________________

**SHOOTING IN WESTPORT - THREE INJURED**

KC-MO police were on the scene of a shooting at Westport & Pennsylvania just after 3 am.
None of the three reported injured - including one male shot in the leg - had life-threatening injuries.
It was not known if police had any involvement in the incident.
_____________________________________________________________

*OTHER STUFF*

*KC-MO firefighters quelched 2 fires in vacant structures overnight.
The first fire went out at 1:18 am - "a vacant 3-story brick apartment building at Admiral Blvd. & Virginia." Three additional companies were called in and the fire was under control about 30 minutes later.
The 2nd suspicious-origin fire was in a vacant house in the 300 block of North Denver around 2:30 am..
No injuries in that firefight either and both fires were under investigation.

*WARRENSBURG, MO authorities report a female pedestrian struck near Mitchell & Jefferson around 2 am.. A medical helicopter was called in to transport the victim but it was too damn busy to hear her disposition.
_________________________________________________________

***OVERNIGHT WEATHER***

The mostly clear skies at midnight belied the Metro K.C. weather 7 hours earlier- when tornado warnings popped up in southwestern and southern parts of the Metro.
Temperatures held around the 50-degree mark overnight with calm or nearly-calm winds. SOme ground fog affected mostly river valley areas.

A warm up today and Sunday - one excellent weekend in store!

___________________________________
First with Kansas City Metro- Region Breaking News - KSHB NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
__________________________________

WELCOME HOME SONGBIRD!

I'm not gonna' bore you with the same old lines,
After all the hurts I know that we're still fine;
Sometimes it takes a little tragedy,
To really see things the way they need to be;
Vir-tu-al,
Lips I'm kissin;'

Honey I heard every word you say,
It's just that we're so damn far away;
Know you're tired of all the rain,
Not knowing when these arms will ever hold you again,
That
Indeed we're missin;'


Alone in the darkness,
Can you see the light?
Will we make it wrong or will we make it right?
Stop it? Fix it?
What do we do?


Neither of us come with a guarantee,
Life's about living, loving, feelin' free;
Are you the base where I may find,
All of the above and some peace of mind?
Love,
just think and listen;


If this is love,
Let's pull it through;
If that's what feels the right thing to do;
Show it, Grow it,
What do we do?


WHAT DO WE DO?
©January 23, 2006 - BoSongs Music

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, April 22, 2007

***BREAKING NEWS: ONE DEAD, ONE CRITICALLY INJURED IN KC, KS. HOUSE FIRE***
The alarm went out to KC-KS fire stations at 5:48 am Sunday morning alerting them of a house fire at 10th Street & Quindaro in N.E. KC-KS..

Within 30 seconds- Pumper 5 - stationed about a block away - reports "heavy fire" from the front 2-stories of the house. While entry is made into the burning structure- a disturbing report is made at exactly 6 am..

The chief reports "a victim's being pulled out" and eight minutes later- "a 2nd victim."

Both persons - a male in his 50's" and a female around 40 were transported to a hospital. The female's injuries were fatal.

The fire was under control by 6:20 am.. Police had yet to arrive to block the street for fire hoses as of 6:38 am..
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**FOUR INJURED IN OVERNIGHT SHOOTINGS, OTHER KC-KS HOUSE FIRES AND A CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS LATER TODAY AND FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS COMING LATER IN THIS REPORT*

____________________
First with Kansas City Metro- Region Breaking News - KSHB NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, April 21, 2007

***QUESTIONS WHY A MAN DROWNS AT A KC, MO. CASINO***

It's the second violent death at the Isle of Capri casino in the past several months.

The call was dispatched at 12:28 am Saturday morning with both police and MAST-EMS saying "a man being chased by (casino) security jumped into (a) moat." Authorities at the scene would not confirmed that piece of information to news sources.

The male- later described by a MAST paramedic as in "his mid-20's" - disappeared under the surface of the reported "15-foot deep" moat that Missouri casinos are required to float on.

Lee's Summit Underwater Recovery divers were called to the scene by KC-MO Fire and the man's body - "in full cardiac arrest"- was pulled from the water at 1:30 am..

He was taken to a nearby trauma center where he was soon pronounced dead.

An investigation of this incident is underway by the Missouri Highway Patrol Gaming Commission arm.

Several months ago, a shooting at this casino left one woman dead and another man seriously injured.
_____________________________

**MAN COMPACTED BY TRASH TRUCK AND LIVES*

A 37-year-old man suffered only a fractured leg after being accidentally dumped from the dumpster he was sleeping in into a trash truck.

The call came in at 2:38 am to Independence Avenue and Wabash in near-Northeast KC, Mo..
The man was not extricated from the trash truck's compactor until 3:11 am and he was whisked to a nearby trauma center.
_____________________________

*OTHER STUFF*

*LEE'S SUMMIT and HARRISONVILLE police are investigating deaths in their cities early Saturday
There are no immediate indications of foul play in the 3:09 am LS-MO call in the 300 block of S.W. Delmar.
The 4:35 am call to the 2400 block of Leawood in HARRISONVILLE involved "a 2-week-old."

*JACKSON COUNTY- BLUE SPRINGS & GRAIN VALLEY, MO. law enforcement agencies are investigating an early morning disturbance at the "Whiskey Tango" tavern.
As many as 5 people may have been injured- at least two were transported to medical facilities - one in critical condition and by medical helicopter.

*KC-KS firefighters quelched a vacant house fire in the 3000 block of North 21st Street. No injuries in the call that went out at 1:42 am and was under investigation.
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***OVERNIGHT WEATHER***

Clear skies, pleasant temperatures and light southerly winds prevailed into dawn Saturday morning.
A warm day is in store with temperatures around the 80-degree mark today with brisk south breezes.

Severe thunderstorms and their nastiness will erupt a couple of hundred miles west & southwest of the KC Metro today.

Severe storms look possible for the KC MetroRegion Sunday and again Tuesday and/or Wednesday.
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First with Kansas City Metro- Region Breaking News - KSHB NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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HEALING WAVES FOR TWO

Two longtime IRC chat friends are currently hospitalized - Wyrdjax of Cumbria, England and Sweet Songbird of Vancouver, Canada.

Both the "Doctor of Love" and myself - all 5 of us - wish you both a speedy recovery. (BFG)

All 3 of us have been through thick & thicker in many ways together and may The Great Spirit Bless you both.
Groucho...


PS: Geez- Doc said not to forget two of his trio of faithful listeners - "The Down-Undah Gurls" - Alleycat, Femme DeMortis and izzy58.

Alley in New Zealand recently (I hope) got out of the hospital due to her on-going illness. A lovely lady in her late-20's who works with mentally-challenged children.
Bless you Alley- my MSN LM is on you know! g

Femme is equally impressive. A late-20's mother of several children in eastern Australia, she's getting her formal education for a career. And still doing a DJ stint or two on "United-Guru" http://www.wyrdjax.co.uk.
Most would be and I certainly was - impressed by the road she had taken to get to this point in her life.

Last but not least, the mysterious izzy58 from southeastern Australia who was last seen in the company of one smooth-talking British gentleman and former RadioGuru DJ - Dr.Odd.

Good thoughts to all of you as well and to all good people everywhere.

TEENAGED WEATHERMEN in KANSAS CITY - FORTY YEARS AGO

Not many people- let alone a 13-year-old can predict a tornado hours before it strikes based SOLELY on cloud types. So the afternoon of April 19, 1966 was hard for me to concentrate on classwork - I'd grab a desk near a window and mostly keep at least one eye on the sky beyond.

  My noon-time prediction had apparently made the 'did you hear?' rounds of youthful conversation until school was let out for the day around 3:15 pm.. 

But when a friend and I came out an east door of Southeast Junior high school - we didn't immediately understand the small clumps of students north of the school looking west with looks of both amazement and shock on their faces.

 There it was - a classic dark-gray tornado funnel back lighted by sunshine. The twister was doing it's last damage in Overland Park around another school- Katherine Carpenter elementary- at 96th Street and Knox. 

We didn't know it was that far away - so most of us became impromptu track stars.

 Even after seeing the tornado and running most of that mile-distance home - there was no warning either by Civil Defense siren (one of which was atop the high school) nor TV broadcast.

 That's right. For at LEAST 15 minutes AFTER I saw a tornado in Overland Park and ran that mile home - all 3 TV stations (Channel 19 didn't count) were still running regular programming!

 By early 1967, I was enjoying whatever status being the "school weatherman" at Southeast High school afforded. I was literally absorbing whatever textbooks the library had on meteorology.


Finding most of those books written for grade or junior-high level- I would go to the main library downtown on weekends seeking more advanced - university texts - on the subject.

 So one late January day after seeing dark storm clouds with cloud to ground lightning about to pounce - I began running off the athletic fields during gym class, most of the other boys followed. 

Bringing up the rear of that exodus (and being buffeted by 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts) was a confused and somewhat irritated gym teacher.

 That teacher apologized for chastising me the next day- the severe thunderstorm I was running from had produced a killer tornado at a school about 25 miles away.

 One February morning an article appeared in the KANSAS CITY TIMES about a 14-year-old fellow who had an amateur weather station in one of his Mom's vacant apartment units in Kansas City's (at the time- Italian) North End.

 Being of the old school- I sent Phil Wall a letter- expressing to him my devotion to the study of weather. Another teen aged boy from Prairie Village also contacted Phil.

 Over the next several weeks, the 3 of us - Phil, John Rowlands and myself kept in contact - and made big plans.

 The three of us would get together March 24 at John's suburban house and form our own weather organization - The Kansas City Weather Service. First and foremost - we pledged accuracy and responsibility in whatever endeavors we would undertake.

 After newspaper articles, TV news interviews and an appearance on the legendary Walt Bodine's 'Night Beat' talk show on WHB, our organization grew quickly from the original 3 to more than two-dozen weather-minded teens throughout the KC Metro.

 Our main goal was to provide a network of trained storm spotters who would report instantly to a central location - that lack of warning even AFTER the fact on April 19, 1966 burned within me and continues even to this day.

 Phil and I had long wave radio receivers- that picked up hourly aviation weather reports from hundreds of miles away during the day- thousands of miles away at night. 

With those station reports, radar data and rudimentary upper wind data, we hand-made our own synoptic weather maps and issued daily forecasts.

 We contacted radio stations throughout the area- offering our free weather services. 

At the peak of our operation in 1969, we had 4 area radio stations broadcasting our recorded information daily, more than 50 teen weather observers locally and had even started similar independent teen-operated organizations in at least 4 other states across the country.

 By 1969, we were actually competing with another teenage weather outfit in town (oddly- competition I helped start). One of our own people even started an international weather service.

 At one point, the government's National Weather Service - in a letter - actually threatened us and the radio stations we provided information to. Those stations did not subscribe to the then-expensive weather teletype system. 

The government's claims were baseless - we would ONLY parrot 'official' watches and warnings to the stations and often provided safety information during these broadcasts.

 By this time, most of us had driver's licenses - and a couple of times a year we'd go out "storm spotting" (years later this would be known as 'storm chasing'- and these experiences would come in handy on May 4, 1977).

 The Kansas City Amateur Weather Service (the 'Amateur' was our compromise to the government's threats) lasted until about early 1971. By then most of us had become mobile young adults with other obligations.

 Oddly, none of us would get a degree in meteorology - but what we learned about weather early in life and continued to learn through the years would serve us well in our careers.

 Phil would become a dispatcher for the KC, MO. fire department and retire as a chief dispatcher a few years ago, John ("Johnny") Rowlands went into broadcast media and I would become a firefighter and later also get into local broadcast news media. 

Since the mid-1970's all 3 of the original KCWS members would play our own parts in local weather history.

Happy 40th anniversary to all the Kansas City Weather Service 'alumni!'

 Also a toast to all young people who enrich not only themselves but our community with their dedication of time and efforts to helping others.

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The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, April 08, 2007

***TWO SHOT IN KC-MO MIDTOWN***

Police, MAST-EMS & Fire units converged on 32nd Street and Harrison around 3:30 am on the report of a shooting.
One man there was transported to a local trauma center in critical condition. Police later say a 2nd victim "showed-up" at another hospital.

No suspect information was provided.
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***THREE POLICE PURSUITS RESULT IN A CRASH AND TWO MANHUNTS***

Two agencies require a lot of KC-MO taxpayer-subsidized police helicopter services.

The first chase was in LIBERTY, MO. about 12:15 am and the pursuit ends when the suspect vehicle crashes into a gas meter near M-291 & Ruth Ewing. The driver flees and a manhunt with helicopter ensues. No word if the suspect-driver was caught.
***

The second and third chases occurred within about 20 minutes of each other.

The 2nd was in eastern JOHNSON COUNTY, MO. when a vehicle being chased by Knob Noster police crashed "about 2 miles east of M-23 on N.E. 175" road just before 2 AM. One of the vehicle's occupants was reportedly ejected from the vehicle- losing an arm according to EMS. He was flown by a Columbia, MO.-based medical copter to an unknown destination. No word on the 2nd occupant.
***

The third chase started a short time later when the driver of a black Chevy pickup reportedly tried to run over a Lake Winnebago cop.
The chase went north on M-291- speed reported at "100 m.p.h.." The chase stops and the driver bailed-out and ran north of M-150 and M-291. Shortly thereafter- shots were fired but apparently no one struck and no word who fired the shots.
The manhunt of the driver - using the KC-MO police helicopter for nearly 4 hours - continues as of 7 am..
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*MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN LENEXA, KS CRASH*

It was a car that left southbound I-35 just north of 95th Street- rolled over several times and came to rest on it's top on Marshall Drive. After an about 20 minute extrication- the driver was taken to a nearby trauma center with serious to critical injuries.
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*SUSPICIOUS FIRES IN MIAMI COUNTY, KS*

Osawatomie & Paola firefighters fought two early-morning fires.

The first was reported as "a trailer at the middle school at 5th & Brown" in Osawatomie just after 3:15 am Sunday morning. That fire was contained & extinguished by available companies with no injuries.

At 4:22 am, Paola firefighters responded to the report of a "structure fire at 319th & Victory. That blaze was soon put-out with no injuries.
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***OVERNIGHT WEATHER***

Another record low temperature was broken Sunday morning.

Under clear skies and light westerly winds- the previous record of 24-degrees set in 1914 was broken by the 3 am reading of 23 at K.C.I. airport.

The cold temperatures will moderate to normal readings this coming week- with at least two chances of precipitation both Tuesday and later in the week.

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First with Kansas City Metro- Region Breaking News - KSHB NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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