Another storm rolls through area

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
A 60-70-foot hackberry lays on its side, wedged neatly between St. Alban's Episcopal Church and the church's Canterbury House and Pantry, following Tuesday evening's raucous rain and wind storm. A farm dam holds backs the torrential rains that fell in Hayes County Monday. Heavy rains have turned the county's country roads to moonscapes; rainwater has exposed telephone lines buried down the middle of country roads. Rainfall included 1.75 inches at Hugh Butler Lake, 1.40 at the Bureau of Reclamation in McCook and 1.92 at Harry Strunk Lake. (Bruce Crosby/McCook Daily Gazette)

Travel in Hayes County is "at your own risk," after torrential rains Monday and again Tuesday carved huge crevices in country roads and compromised bridges through-out the county.

Tuesday's heavy rains also necessitated two evacuations near Culbertson and flooded roads near Palisade.

Hitchcock County Sheriff Bryan Leggott said this morning that 5 inches of rain in about an hour forced the evacuation of two families whose homes are along the Frenchman Creek west of Culbertson.

An elderly couple evacuated last night, Leggott said, and Deb and Doug Lau, operators of the popular "Nana's Garden" vegetable market, left this morning.

Leggott said he went back to the Laus' -- located in the flood plain and under about three feet of water -- for the couple's dog. Waters from the swollen Frenchman were reported approaching U.S. Highways 6-34 by midmorning.

"We have lots of low-lying land in the Frenchman Creek Valley," Leggott said, ex-plaining that excessive runoff forced the closing of Highway 6 between Palisade and the Highways 6 and 25 junction for a while last evening. He said county roads and bridge crossings have also suffered from fast-moving water.

The National Weather Service at Goodland reported this morning that Palisade also received hail, measuring up to one inch.

Hayes County Emergency Manager Char Hamilton issued a warning this morning that travel on her county's country roads is "at your own risk."

"All county roads in Hayes County are temporarily closed," Hamilton said. "If you must travel in Hayes County, you will be traveling at your own risk. The roads have not been marked for washouts."

Hamilton said this morning that as of 10 p.m., Tuesday, she had received reports of 8 inches of rain -- in addition to the two to 11 inches that fell Monday. "We have reports of culverts gone and water over bridges and roads," she said.

In Tuesday evening's storm, Goodland weather reported that Hayes Center received hail whose size meteorologists described as "a few pennies, mostly peas."

Tuesday's storm also packed a high-wind wallop, with McCook reporting wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour. Branches up to three inches in diameter were breaking off in Atwood, which also reported 60-mile-an-hour winds.

In Dundy County, law enforcement relayed a public report of wind gusts to 70 miles an hour. Seven miles north-northwest of Parks, Goodland reported three- to four-inch branches down, heavy rain and pea-sized hail covering the ground.

Tree limbs were reported torn down by high winds and strong gusts across Furnas County.

Eight miles southwest of McCook, Wallen Farms reported that grain bins and other farm structures were damaged by high winds.

Red Willow County Sheriff Gene Mahon reported seeing two tornadoes six miles west of McCook, and nurses at Community Hospital of McCook reported a tornado north of the hospital.

Tornado sirens blared across McCook, but, although strong winds knocked down branches, no tornado developed.

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