Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 140, NWS Topeka, KS

May 20, 2025Dickinson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2025, 12:02 AM CDT for Dickinson County, Kansas. It was in force for 43 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: May 20, 2025, 12:02 AM CDT (05:02 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2025, 12:45 AM CDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon
Damage threat: Considerable
Hail: 1.0 in
Wind: 70.0 mph

County Dickinson County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:06 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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 132 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1171 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -99 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 867 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 148 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 3.3

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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 19, 6:55 PM CDT, 5 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 6:55 PM CDT, 5 hours 7 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 19, 1:47 PM CDT, 10 hours 15 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Topeka KS
147 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

KSZ009>012-021>024-026-035>040-054>056-058-059-201900-
Washington-Marshall-Nemaha-Brown-Clay-Riley-Pottawatomie-Jackson-
Jefferson-Dickinson-Geary-Morris-Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon-
Osage-Franklin-Coffey-Anderson-
147 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

...TORNADO WATCH 294 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Kansas, east central
Kansas, north central Kansas and northeast Kansas.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Severe storms are expected later this afternoon and into the
evening. Very large hail, damaging winds will be the main hazards. A
few tornadoes will also be possible and flooding risk may rise if
storms a slow to move out of the area.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday.

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.SPOTTER MESSAGE

Weather spotters are encouraged to relay reports of hail, damaging
wind, tornadoes and flooding.

&&

More detailed information can be found at:
www.weather.gov/media/top/DssPacket.pdf

KSZ008-020-034-201900-
Republic-Cloud-Ottawa-
147 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central Kansas.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Isolated severe storms are possible this afternoon and evening. Large
hail and damaging wind gusts are the main hazards.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday.

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.SPOTTER MESSAGE

Weather spotters are encouraged to relay reports of hail, damaging
wind, tornadoes and flooding.

&&

More detailed information can be found at:
www.weather.gov/media/top/DssPacket.pdf

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 19, 6:20 PM CDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Topeka KS
620 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0557 PM     Hail             3 E Herington           38.66N 96.89W
05/19/2025  E1.00 Inch       Morris             KS   Trained Spotter

&&

smb

Local storm report, May 19, 6:46 PM CDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 19, 6:49 PM CDT, 5 hours 13 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 19, 7:09 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Osage	36 min
May 19, 7:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Shawnee, Wabaunsee	24 min
May 19, 7:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TOP	Lyon, Morris, Wabaunsee	4 hr
May 19, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Shawnee	32 min
May 19, 8:39 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Lyon	36 min
May 19, 9:16 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	TOP	Douglas	3 hr
May 19, 10:05 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Dickinson	25 min
May 19, 10:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Dickinson	33 min
May 19, 10:37 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Geary, Morris	23 min
May 19, 10:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Dickinson, Geary	22 min
May 20, 12:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Dickinson, Morris	34 min
May 20, 1:15 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Morris	30 min
May 20, 2:14 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	TOP	Dickinson, Geary, Riley	3 hr
May 20, 2:35 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TOP	Douglas	40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2025 Every 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.