Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 227, NWS Wichita, KS

July 18, 2025Butler County, Harvey County, Sedgwick County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 18, 2025, 5:27 PM CDT for Butler County, Harvey County, Sedgwick County, Kansas. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 18, 2025, 5:27 PM CDT (22:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 2025, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon
Damage threat
Considerable
Hail
0.75 in
Wind
70.0 mph

Counties Butler County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:27 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 234 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2025-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1967 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2025-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 114 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1967 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
551 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
114 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 18, 2:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • A few showers and storms possible tonight mainly in central KS.
  • Hot and humid conditions with mostly dry weather are expected into next week.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 2:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Wichita KS
257 PM CDT Fri Jul 18 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- A few showers and storms possible tonight mainly in central
  KS.

- Hot and humid conditions with mostly dry weather are expected
  into next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 255 PM CDT Fri Jul 18 2025

Currently, there is a surface low extending from eastern CO to
western SD with a warm front draping down from eastern NE to central
MO. In our area, southerly flow at the surface persists resulting in
dewpoints in the mid 70s and temperatures in the upper 80s to lower
90s. This evening, instability will increase as surface heating
amplifies and moisture continues to build. As we move into the
overnight hours, this axis of instability will shift north with the
better instability staying north and east of our area. As the LLJ
increases tonight, an axis of convergence will set up in
northern Kansas. Given the limited forcing, low chances of
showers and storms will remain in central KS. Low temperatures
will drop to the low to mid 70s.

On Saturday, a frontal boundary will move towards the KS/NE border
keeping southerly flow at the surface in our area. High temperatures
are expected to rise into the mid to upper 90s with areas in central
Kansas around 100. Low-level upslope flow in eastern CO will help
initiate storms Saturday afternoon to evening with the expectation
of eastward propagation. Given decent instability is expected in
northern Kansas, it is possible that a storm may reach central KS.
However, strong inhibition will limit chances with the potential
that storms will diminish as they move into the area.

With the mid-level ridge slightly amplifying on Sunday as it shifts
towards the Mississippi Valley, thickness will continue to increase.
High temperatures on Sunday will be similar to Saturday with highs
in the upper 90s to the lower 100s. On Sunday night, low
precipitation chances will be possible in central KS as an embedded
weak ripple is expected to ride the upper/mid-level ridge combined
with an increasing LLJ.

Monday-Friday... Starting early next week, model consensus supports
the upper-level ridge amplifying more, allowing heights to continue
rising. With southerly flow persisting, hot and humid conditions are
expected daily. Overnight lows are expected to stay warm with most
areas in the mid to upper 70s. Upper-level flow will steer some
shortwave troughs into the Central High Plains making low
precipitation chances possible through this period.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1238 PM CDT Fri Jul 18 2025

Only a few isolated showers remain early this afternoon across
southeast Kansas however these will remain east of CNU.
VFR conditions have returned to all terminals and are expected
to remain so through the remainder of this TAF period. A few
isolated showers and thunderstorms may try to develop across
central Kansas late this afternoon and evening however
confidence on a direct impact at any one site remains too low
to include a mention in the TAF at this time. Winds
approximately 1000 ft above ground will ramp up late tonight
leading to a period of LLWS at most terminals through tomorrow
morning.

&&

.ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Extreme Heat Warning from 2 PM Saturday to 7 PM CDT Wednesday
for KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100.

&&

DISCUSSION...GC
AVIATION...WI
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 18, 3:39 PM CDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Wichita KS
339 PM CDT Fri Jul 18 2025

KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-192045-
Russell-Lincoln-Barton-Ellsworth-Saline-Rice-McPherson-Marion-Chase-
Reno-Harvey-Butler-Greenwood-Woodson-Allen-Kingman-Sedgwick-Harper-
Sumner-Cowley-Elk-Wilson-Neosho-Chautauqua-Montgomery-Labette-
339 PM CDT Fri Jul 18 2025

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas,
South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

A few additional storms are possible this afternoon, especially
across central and south central Kansas. The strongest storms may
produce wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy rainfall.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday

Small storm chances, mainly at night, exist over the next week.
Widespread severe weather is not expected.

Heat indices will climb above 100 degrees Saturday through
Thursday across much of the area. An Extreme Heat Warning is in
effect from 2 PM Saturday until 7 PM Wednesday and may need to be
extended in future updates.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated tonight.

&&

For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at:
https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=ict

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 18, 4:32 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 18, 4:36 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 18, 4:40 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 18, 5:01 PM CDT, 26 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 18, 5:11 PM CDT, 16 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 18, 5:16 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 18, 5:58 AM CDTAreal Flood WarningICTChautauqua4 hr
Jul 18, 9:27 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningICTSumner10 hr
Jul 18, 2:51 PM CDTExtreme Heat WarningICTAllen, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley and 20 more3 days
Jul 18, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarper, Sumner35 min
Jul 18, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatICTSedgwick, Sumner33 min
Jul 18, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatICTSedgwick45 min
Jul 18, 6:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler, Chase, Harvey, Marion44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2025Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2025

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.