Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Lawrence, Kansas Gets Worst of It
Aired May 09, 2003 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If you were with us yesterday, Chad was talking about really going about 40 minutes at the maximum rate over about two days, where a tornado was coming in just about every 40 minutes in the middle part of the country. And yet again today, Heidi, we're talking about tornadoes today.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There's no question about it. If you ever wondered where Tornado Alley is, this is the answer, Okalahoma and Kansas got hit yesterday. Oklahoma City got the worst of it. You can see it through the bricks that were apparently flying through the air there. Three hundred homes were destroyed in the suburb of Moore. Another 300 were damaged. But luckily no one was killed.
This is the same town that saw a lot of damage four years ago when twisters hit the region, killing 47 people. The first week in May has set a record for tornadoes, 225 reported through Wednesday. The previous record, it beat it by a mile. A series of storms I just mentioned in May of 1999. I think it was like 125 or something like that I think it was.
HEMMER: Yes, the bottom line is this storm continues to produce. And it produced again in the state of Kansas storms earlier in the week. Still recovering there when a whole new round of tornadoes struck last night. Lawrence, Kansas seems to have gotten the worst of it.
Ed Lavandera has gone there. He's live this morning -- Ed, what's happening?
Good morning, there.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, Kansas residents are waking up to beautiful blue skies this morning. But if you were watching the weather radars last night as these storms were coming in about seven o'clock Central Time, you could see just like a wave of red storms moving across on the radar and cutting across Kansas.
The apartment complex you see behind me here in Lawrence, Kansas was one of the harder hit areas. The rooftop of one of the apartment buildings being blown away and destroyed here in Lawrence, Kansas.
No injuries reported, but there were also storms that seemed to touch down during, in a 90 mile stretch from, stretching from Topeka south down to Yates Center, Kansas, which is in the center part of the state, as well. So many storms rolling through here. No injuries reported. A lot of reports of damage throughout the area. These were rural areas, for the most part. But no serious injuries to report at this time and no one killed in this latest round of tornadoes that hit the Kansas area.
We've heard a little bit about the weather forecast for later on today and some more of the same perhaps later on and this afternoon. As the spring time air warms up, more, the more possibility of severe weather later on again this afternoon -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, we will watch it. I'm sure you will, too, Ed.
Thanks.
Ed Lavandera live in Kansas there, Lawrence, Kansas, this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 9, 2003 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If you were with us yesterday, Chad was talking about really going about 40 minutes at the maximum rate over about two days, where a tornado was coming in just about every 40 minutes in the middle part of the country. And yet again today, Heidi, we're talking about tornadoes today.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There's no question about it. If you ever wondered where Tornado Alley is, this is the answer, Okalahoma and Kansas got hit yesterday. Oklahoma City got the worst of it. You can see it through the bricks that were apparently flying through the air there. Three hundred homes were destroyed in the suburb of Moore. Another 300 were damaged. But luckily no one was killed.
This is the same town that saw a lot of damage four years ago when twisters hit the region, killing 47 people. The first week in May has set a record for tornadoes, 225 reported through Wednesday. The previous record, it beat it by a mile. A series of storms I just mentioned in May of 1999. I think it was like 125 or something like that I think it was.
HEMMER: Yes, the bottom line is this storm continues to produce. And it produced again in the state of Kansas storms earlier in the week. Still recovering there when a whole new round of tornadoes struck last night. Lawrence, Kansas seems to have gotten the worst of it.
Ed Lavandera has gone there. He's live this morning -- Ed, what's happening?
Good morning, there.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, Kansas residents are waking up to beautiful blue skies this morning. But if you were watching the weather radars last night as these storms were coming in about seven o'clock Central Time, you could see just like a wave of red storms moving across on the radar and cutting across Kansas.
The apartment complex you see behind me here in Lawrence, Kansas was one of the harder hit areas. The rooftop of one of the apartment buildings being blown away and destroyed here in Lawrence, Kansas.
No injuries reported, but there were also storms that seemed to touch down during, in a 90 mile stretch from, stretching from Topeka south down to Yates Center, Kansas, which is in the center part of the state, as well. So many storms rolling through here. No injuries reported. A lot of reports of damage throughout the area. These were rural areas, for the most part. But no serious injuries to report at this time and no one killed in this latest round of tornadoes that hit the Kansas area.
We've heard a little bit about the weather forecast for later on today and some more of the same perhaps later on and this afternoon. As the spring time air warms up, more, the more possibility of severe weather later on again this afternoon -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, we will watch it. I'm sure you will, too, Ed.
Thanks.
Ed Lavandera live in Kansas there, Lawrence, Kansas, this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
