Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 409, NWS Topeka, KS

September 19, 2026Clay County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 19, 2026, 7:04 PM CDT for Clay County, Kansas. It was in force for 26 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
Sep 19, 2026, 7:04 PM CDT (00:04 UTC)
Expired
Sep 19, 2026, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon
Hail
1.0 in
Wind
60.0 mph

County Clay County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:07 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 19, 3:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 137 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 00:00Z on 2026-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1599 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 00:00Z on 2026-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1599 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1976 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

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 Sep 19, 6:49 PM CDT, 15 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • -Scattered strong to severe storms are expected to develop along a front late this afternoon/early this evening. -Shower/storm chances linger through the night, but the severe threat should largely diminish after dark. -A dramatic temperature swing occurs between today and early in the upcoming workweek. Below average temperatures stick around through the week.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 6:49 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Topeka KS
649 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

-Scattered strong to severe storms are expected to develop along a
 front late this afternoon/early this evening.

-Shower/storm chances linger through the night, but the severe threat
 should largely diminish after dark.

-A dramatic temperature swing occurs between today and early in the
 upcoming workweek. Below average temperatures stick around through
 the week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 206 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2026

The main focus in the short-term is on thunderstorm chances from this
afternoon into tonight, and whether storms will reach severe
thresholds. At 18Z, a cold front was moving into north central KS. A
few agitated cu had grown tall enough to produce isolated, small
showers ahead of the boundary. SBCAPE has increased to 2000-3000 J/kg
ahead of the boundary and DCAPE is over 1000 J/kg, but deep layer
shear is less impressive at around 25 kts. This environment is
developing as expected and continues to indicate downburst wind
potential with any storms that form today. CAMs still do not show a
lot of agreement on timing and location of the more robust
convection, but thinking is that coverage of storms will increase
after 23Z with initiation likely occurring along a line extending
from near Sabetha to Manhattan to Herington. Initial updrafts could
congeal into clusters as the entire system progresses eastward across
the area this evening. Severe potential should begin to diminish in
the hours after sunset in far eastern KS as CIN increases. Most CAMs
then show another cluster of showers and storms moving into central
KS overnight in response to a shortwave ahead of a main wave aloft.
Models show those storms producing some gusty winds in central KS and
weakening with eastward extent.

Rain showers may linger into the early morning hours of Sunday with
chances decreasing after sunrise. The cold front should be south of
the area by midday tomorrow, so with low clouds and north winds,
temperatures will be noticeably cooler (following a six day stretch
of 90+ highs). Will maintain at least slight chance POPs in east-
central areas through the afternoon with rain possibly clipping the
area from the south near the stalled H85 boundary.

A cooler air mass fully settles into the area with a surface ridge
early next week. NBM has high temperatures ranging from the mid 60s
in far northern KS to the mid 70s near I-35 Monday afternoon in part
due to limited insolation from lingering cloud cover. Tuesday could
be the coolest day of the period with highs in the 60s nearly area-
wide (this is cooler than recent nighttime lows). Temperatures slowly
creep back up, but stay on the cool side of average through the
workweek. POPs return later in the week when longer range models show
the next shortwave aloft possibly impacting the region. Confidence
is not currently high on that possible round of wet weather.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z MONDAY/...
Issued at 629 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2026

For the 00Z TAFs, expect the storms over central Kansas areas to
continue to steadily move ENE across the area. Expect strong damaging
winds to impact the terminals then as the front pushes into the area
winds change to the WNW then N into the overnight period. Expect this
initial round of storms to exit by 04-05Z. There may be another
round of storms that move east into the area, but are expected to
generally weaken. Time of arrival would be around 11Z over western
terminals and around 13Z over eastern terminals if any storms do hold
together.

&&

.TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

DISCUSSION...Teefey
AVIATION...Drake
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 19, 2:24 PM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Topeka KS
224 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2026

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-201930-
Republic-Washington-Marshall-Nemaha-Brown-Cloud-Clay-Riley-
Pottawatomie-Jackson-Jefferson-Ottawa-Dickinson-Geary-Morris-
Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon-Osage-Franklin-Coffey-Anderson-
224 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2026

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

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms could occur late this
afternoon and this evening. Storms are likely to develop along a cold
front located east of a line from Marysville to Minneapolis after 5
PM. Damaging wind gusts will be the main hazard but small hail and
heavy rain could also occur. Storms should weaken into the nighttime
hours in eastern Kansas.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

&&

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 19, 6:36 PM CDT, 28 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, Sep 19, 6:38 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, Sep 19, 6:45 PM CDT, 19 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, Sep 19, 6:48 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, Sep 19, 6:59 PM CDT, 5 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, Sep 19, 7:01 PM CDT, 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>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 19, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatTOPJackson, Shawnee42 min
Sep 19, 7:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPBrown24 min
Sep 19, 7:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley32 min
Sep 19, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatTOPJefferson27 min
Sep 19, 7:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatTOPBrown26 min
Sep 19, 8:06 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPMarshall, Nemaha54 min
Sep 19, 8:12 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPBrown33 min
Sep 19, 8:17 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPLyon28 min
Sep 19, 8:23 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryTOPBrown3 hr
Sep 19, 8:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPBrown2 hr
Sep 19, 9:09 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPOsage36 min
Sep 19, 9:22 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPLyon23 min
Sep 20, 1:46 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPDickinson, Ottawa44 min
Sep 20, 2:28 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementTOPDickinson, Ottawa47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2026Every severe thunderstorm 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.