Alva Review-Courier -

Most people saw "severe thunderstorm warnings" for Barber County Saturday evening around 6 p.m. No tornado sirens went off, so those of us who would instantly go to their basement for shelter did not. Many people were ready to walk out of their house with plans for Saturday night, expecting some rain, thunder and lightning – the usual for these parts in August. Actually, people in this agricultural area were thrilled to see the chance of moisture for their crops and, yes, yards and flowers.

What no one expected was the weirdest, most ominous sounding hail storm, a probable twister and the most damage to this community of about 1,000 people that longtime residents can remember.

Little pieces of hail pounded – and I mean pounded – so hard that it sounded like it might crush your house. The hail came in waves with the unimaginable winds. Just when you thought it was over, the deafening sound would again start. If you dared looked out a window, the rain was raging sideways so hard you couldn't see a house across the street.

Huge trees were uprooted. Roofs were ripped off of structures. Some buildings and sheds (out in the country also) were at least partially blown down and contents flew everywhere. Large plate-glass windows shattered at downtown businesses as well as at some homes.

The north end of town seemed hit harder than the south end. The swimming pool roof ripped off the building and debris flew into the pool and beyond. It is so damaged that the swimming pool will unfortunately be closed the rest of the summer. At the city council meeting Monday night, council members discussed how the seven lifeguards could finish their summer with some other city jobs so they could still get paid.

As reported in a separate story, the high school football stadium was destroyed. The school also had other damage.

Bryan Chevrolet Buick LLC had extensive damage. Vehicles outside had windows shattered from the wind and hail. Substantial damage was inside as well when part of a ceiling reportedly collapsed.

To my knowledge, the hardest hit home was that of Clyda Roark, Her house is directly west of Kiowa, about a half mile from Kiowa's O.K. Grain Cooperative. The storm ripped part of the roof from her home and the damage is major, not livable at this point. The minute word got out about Roark's loss, her home buzzed with volunteers bringing in tarps and eventually packing up everything for her.

At the end of June, Kiowa had a severe straight-line wind storm that everyone thought was terrible and left the town without power about 24 hours. It paled in comparison to the damage Saturday night. The damage was far worse and the power was out over 30 hours. It would have been days longer if it weren't for city administration and local crews and the many electric crews that came from all over Kansas as part of the mutual aid agreement. See those efforts in a separate story.

With both storms, the people of Kiowa banded together – neighbors helping neighbors. It's amazing how fast the debris is cleared.

The local EMS and a barrage of volunteers organized serving meals out of Kiowa's Community Building. At lunch it was sandwiches and everyone was welcome. The people who were working outside all day in the heat certainly appreciated that meal. They were also thankful for the people who drove around and handed out bottles of ice cold water.

Then Kiowa's grocery store, Hometown Market, went above and beyond. Instead of letting their meats and other perishables spoil, they cooked it all up and served it for the evening meal at the community building for the public. Those visiting electric crews who worked around the clock were undoubtedly also grateful.

Although the town was damaged no one was hurt. It was said many times by locals that this was nothing compared to the devastation in Greensburg over 10 years ago.