We started our damage assessment in Belleville, KS on 5/30/2004 after the area was hit by various tornadoes on 5/29/2004. We noted numerous tree branches downed in the residential area to the north of Hwy 36 and east of US81, and also noted roof damage to the Dairy Queen, located across Hwy 36 from the Casey’s General Store where we had encountered the Extreme Winds chasers the day before. Damage from the storm appeared to be F0 to F1 type damage.

In Jamestown, we noted many tree limbs down throughout town, along with roof damage to a mobile home at Fourth and Cedar streets in the northwest portion of town. At the Cedar Street railroad crossing, the crossing signs had been snapped off at the ground and were lying next to the tracks. Large tree branches were damaged along the railroad tracks to the west of Cedar Street, where we had witnessed the rain wrapped tornado pass through. At the cemetery located one mile to the west from where we had been observing the wedge tornado form, we noted many mature cedar trees snapped off, as well as limbs down from other trees. No ground track was noted in the fields surrounding the cemetery. The area to the south of the cemetery did not have a good road network, so it was impossible to see how much damage had occurred on that side of the road. Along the south side of the road to the east of the cemetery, we noted some tree branch and limb damage, of F0 type. We were told by a Cloud County Sheriff’s deputy that a mobile home had been damaged to the southeast of the cemetery, which would have been in the area where we first noted brief touchdown before the large wedge actually formed.

At the intersection of First St and Hwy 28, large branches were damaged in many trees, along both sides of Hwy 28. We proceeded west on Hwy 28 and noted major tree damage to trees, especially along the south side of the highway. A short distance from the western edge of town, a two story frame house was noted along the north side of Hwy 28. Some minor roof edge damage was noted, as well as pock marks on the west side of the house’s siding from airborne debris. All of the large trees in the yard were broken off, and a metal shed on the west side of the house was tipped over. A little further west of this house was a single story frame house situated in a grove of trees on the north side of the highway. The trees were visibly damaged, with large branches torn off and bark stripped from the trunk. The roof of the house had been almost totally torn off, and what appeared to be a frame shed in the rear of the property appeared to have collapsed.

We continued to the curve of Hwy 28 where it turns to the north. Major tree damage and broken utility poles were noted just around the curve and along the edges of Buffalo Creek where it crosses the highway. A large piece of metal debris was noted in the field on the northeast corner of this curve. As we continued north along Hwy 28, we noted additional tree damage along both sides of the road, and extensive damage to a large frame house at the top of the hill where Hwy 28 makes a turn back to the west. Along the north side of the highway, all of the power poles had been snapped off and were lying on the ground. Trees on both sides of the highway showed major limb and branch damage. A metal windmill was bent over and flattened against the ground along the north side of the highway.

Highway 28 curved to the north again, and at that intersection the remnants of what appeared to be a dual axle horse or stock type trailer were noted on the northeast corner of the curve. Other parts of the trailer were found in a field across the highway on the southeast corner and into the woods along the south side of the highway east of the curve. A two story frame residence was noted a short distance north of the curve, along the west side of the highway. Some minor roof damage was noted to the residence, as well as what appeared to be a barn or shed that had collapsed in the back of the residence. Many trees were damaged, as well as all power poles along the road being snapped off. The damage path continued for approximately one half mile to the north past this residence, ending before Hwy 28 curved to the west again near the Jewell County line.

We returned to Jamestown and headed north on Hwy 765 toward Norway, KS to evaluate the damage path to the north of Hwy 28. At the point where Hwy 765 crossed Buffalo Creek, we began observing trees showing F0 to F1 damage on both sides of the highway, showing a southwest to northeast track. Parts of a metal grain bin were found in a field along the west side of the highway a short distance north of Buffalo Creek. Due to trees and power poles being down, power and tree crews had Hwy 765 closed at the next section road north of Buffalo Creek. We detoured to the east along the section road, and took the next road to the north. Some tree damage was noted, mostly of F0 to F1 level. After turning north on the next section road to the east of Hwy 765, we encountered a small cemetery with a single story frame residence to the north of it. Extensive tree damage was noted, but the only damage noted to the structure was a television antenna tower that was bent onto the roof. We continued north until downed power lines forced us to turn around and backtrack to the previous section road to the west, Wagon Road. After turning west, we noted a manufactured home that showed no damage along the south side of the road. Many trees were extensively damaged, and what appeared to be a barn or shed had collapsed in the back of the residence. We came back to Hwy 765 and were able to turn north once again. We proceeded north and noted round hay bales that had been thrown or pushed to the east shoulder of the road. A good deal of paper, plastic and metal debris was noted caught in fences along the east side of the road. As we crested a hill, we noted a damaged farm trailer along the east shoulder of the highway. At the next intersection, Zeal Road, the road was closed again due to power crews working on downed poles, so we had to turn around and return to Jamestown. We were unable to evaluate the damage path any further north than Zeal Rd and Hwy 765.

Using the Kansas Atlas and Gazetteer published by Delorme, it was noted that the northwest edge of the damage track was approximately 3 miles from the southeast edge along the cemetery area and western edge of Jamestown. Due to the fact that we observed numerous funnels developing adjacent to each other, and the fact that we observed at least one secondary funnel along the eastern edge of the main wedge as it approached and crossed Hwy 28 to the west of Jamestown, it appeared that more than one tornado passed through this area simultaneously. This also validated the many simultaneous and adjacent shear markers we noted on WX Works during the development and passage of the storm through Jamestown.