Cleanup to continue for days after powerful winds slam Kansas towns

HALSTEAD, Kan. (KWCH) – Powerful winds hit Kansas hard Sunday evening with widespread reports of damage from trashcans tossed in Hutchinson to a shed crumbling like a tin can and being thrown into a utility pole in the Russell area and a fallen tree smashing a teen’s pickup in Halstead.

The storms produced a pair of EF1 tornadoes near Russell and Wilson in Russell and Ellsworth counties. As the storms moved east, a tornado warning was issued for Harvey County, including Halstead. As the approximate 90-mph winds reached the small city, trees were uprooted, and power lines and street signs toppled.

Dustin Thurston was inside with his children when a tree fell onto the Halstead family’s home.

“As soon as I got to the front room, back door blew off the hinges, front blew open, then the tree fell on the house. Just a big ol’ boom,” Thurston said.

Susan Ross was outside and made it into the basement in time.

“It almost felt like our roof was lifting off our house,” she said.

As the tornado sirens sounded in Halstead, people said the roar of the wind drowned them out.

“It was really bad, I almost could not hear the sirens,” said Halstead resident Delia Stewart.

The cleanup started early and will continue for days. But the Halstead community is rallying together for each other.

Sunday night, some wondered if extensive damage in Harvey County was the result of a tornado. The NWS clarified that what hit Burrton, Halstead and Newton was “a severe straight-line wind event called a Derecho” which produced winds up to 90 mph.

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