Alert archive / Kansas / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 10, NWS Wichita, KS

April 15, 2026Barton County, Lincoln County, Russell County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this red flag warning at Apr 15, 2026, 2:23 PM CDT for Barton County, Lincoln County, Russell County, Kansas. It took effect at Apr 16, 2026, 12:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 8 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 15, 2026, 2:23 PM CDT (19:23 UTC)
In effect from
Apr 16, 2026, 12:00 PM CDT
Expired
Apr 16, 2026, 7:53 PM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS

Counties Barton County, KS, Lincoln County, KS, Russell County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:23 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 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 255 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2026-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 721 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2026-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 372 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
721 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
567 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
372 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
364 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag 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 red flag warning went out at Apr 15, 12:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 15, 12:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 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>
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 15, 5:23 AM CDT, 9 hours before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Wichita KS
523 AM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-161030-
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-
523 AM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

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

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Severe thunderstorms are possible again this afternoon and evening
generally southeast of the Kansas Turnpike after 1 PM. Large hail,
damaging winds and locally heavy rain will be the primary threats.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday

Another vigorous storm system will arrive on Friday bringing the
potential for severe thunderstorms for much of the area in the
afternoon and evening hours.

A very high grassland fire danger will develop for areas west of
I-135 on both Thursday and Friday during the afternoon hours.

A very high grassland fire danger may return early next week for
areas west of I-135.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated today or tonight.

&&

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTReno, Rice32 min
Apr 15, 2:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Montgomery39 min
Apr 15, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatICTAllen, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson45 min
Apr 15, 3:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Montgomery41 min
Apr 15, 3:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTAllen16 min
Apr 15, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTNeosho35 min
Apr 15, 4:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Montgomery20 min
Apr 15, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson36 min
Apr 15, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTAllen12 min
Apr 15, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette13 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Kansas, 2026Every red flag warning in 2026

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.