Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 20, NWS Topeka, KS
NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 26, 2026, 3:28 PM CDT for Douglas County, Osage County, Shawnee County, Kansas. It was in force for 19 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 26, 2026, 3:28 PM CDT (20:28 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 26, 2026, 3:47 PM CDT
- In force
- 19 min
- Issued by
- NWS Topeka, KS
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 0.75 in
Counties Douglas County, KS, Osage County, KS, Shawnee County, KS
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:29 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 12:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 9 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 23 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 54 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -242 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 980 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 54 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 6 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
361
WFUS53 KTOP 262028
TORTOP
KSC045-139-177-262115-
/O.NEW.KTOP.TO.W.0020.260426T2028Z-260426T2115Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Topeka KS
328 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
The National Weather Service in Topeka has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Southeastern Shawnee County in east central Kansas...
Southwestern Douglas County in east central Kansas...
Northeastern Osage County in east central Kansas...
* Until 415 PM CDT.
* At 327 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located near Richland, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree
damage is likely.
* Locations impacted include...
Southwestern Lawrence, Richland, Overbrook, Clinton, Lone Star,
Pleasant Grove, Clinton Lake, and Globe.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3877 9565 3892 9566 3892 9523 3876 9526
TIME...MOT...LOC 2027Z 268DEG 26KT 3885 9559
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
CP2 follow-up statements
331
WWUS53 KTOP 262041
SVSTOP
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Topeka KS
341 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
KSC139-177-262050-
/O.CAN.KTOP.TO.W.0020.000000T0000Z-260426T2115Z/
Shawnee-Osage-
341 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN SHAWNEE AND NORTHEASTERN
OSAGE COUNTIES IS CANCELLED...
The tornadic thunderstorm which prompted the warning has moved out
of the warned area. Therefore, the warning has been cancelled.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 700 PM CDT for
east central Kansas.
&&
LAT...LON 3876 9526 3877 9550 3892 9550 3892 9523
TIME...MOT...LOC 2040Z 268DEG 26KT 3885 9546
$$
KSC045-262115-
/O.CON.KTOP.TO.W.0020.000000T0000Z-260426T2115Z/
Douglas-
341 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHWESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY...
At 340 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 4 miles southeast of Richland, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
likely.
Locations impacted include...
Southwestern Lawrence, Clinton, Lone Star, Pleasant Grove, Clinton
Lake, and Globe.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3876 9526 3877 9550 3892 9550 3892 9523
TIME...MOT...LOC 2040Z 268DEG 26KT 3885 9546
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
CP759 WWUS53 KTOP 262047 SVSTOP Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Topeka KS 347 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 KSC045-262057- /O.CAN.KTOP.TO.W.0020.000000T0000Z-260426T2115Z/ Douglas- 347 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 ...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY IS CANCELLED... The tornado threat has diminished and the Tornado Warning has been cancelled. However, large hail and damaging winds remain likely and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect for the area. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 700 PM CDT for east central Kansas. Remember, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning still remains in effect for southern Douglas County. && LAT...LON 3876 9526 3877 9550 3892 9550 3892 9523 TIME...MOT...LOC 2044Z 268DEG 26KT 3885 9539 $$ CP
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Apr 26, 2:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Complicated severe weather setup tonight. Likely two rounds of severe, one afternoon and another late evening into the overnight hours. The second round will carry the largest severe threat, but large hail, damaging winds will be a the main threat. A few tornadoes will be possible across the southeast counties late Tonight.
- A few storms may linger into Monday, but severe weather threat mostly shifts to our east.
- Cooler pattern arrives for the rest of the week behind Monday's cold front. A few chances for light rain by mid week.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 2:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Topeka KS 226 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Complicated severe weather setup tonight. Likely two rounds of severe, one afternoon and another late evening into the overnight hours. The second round will carry the largest severe threat, but large hail, damaging winds will be a the main threat. A few tornadoes will be possible across the southeast counties late Tonight. - A few storms may linger into Monday, but severe weather threat mostly shifts to our east. - Cooler pattern arrives for the rest of the week behind Monday's cold front. A few chances for light rain by mid week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 201 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 Early this afternoon water vapor satellite showed an upper level trough across the Four Corners region. A complex surface pattern showed a cold front extending south- southwest from central NE into northwest OK. A warm front was located from Alva, OK, east-northeast across northern OK, just south of the KS/OK border. Currently a QLCS was located across Dickinson County, southward to Newton KS. This QLCS will move east-northeast across much of east central KS and portions of northeast KS through the mid and late afternoon hours. Additionally, elevated storms may produce quarter size hail across the northern counties of the CWA. There is a component of 0-3KM shear vector perpendicular to the line of storms may provide a low chance for weak and brief meso vortex tornadoes as this line moves into a slightly more favorable environment across east central and portions of northeast KS. However, the primary threat with this QLCS will be damaging wind gusts and large hail The QLCS should exit the CWA after 4 PM and we may see a break in the thunderstorm activity through much of the evening hours. The cold front across western KS is not showing signs of frontolysis and the newer CAMs are showing a surface low developing across northwest OK and tracking northeast to ICT, then northeast into the far southeast counties of the CWA. This will only allow the surface warm front to reach south central and southeast KS. The dryline will punch northeast from northwest OK into south central KS late this evening. The CAMs continue to show the potential for supercell thunderstorms developing across south central KS and north central OK, moving east-northeast northeast into southeast KS. The northern supercells may reach into the far southeast counties of the CWA. If these supercell thunderstorms become surface based, they may produce a few tornadoes, given forecast hodographs with strong sfc-3km low-level shear. The uncertainty in a supercell being surface based may preclude any damaging tornado threat during the early morning hours of Monday. Elevated supercell will be possible north of the warm front across much of northeast and east central KS. These rotating storms may produce large hail and possibly isolated damaging wind gusts. A few CAMs show the potential for training thunderstorms across northeast KS where 2 to 4 inches of rainfall may occur and cause some flooding of rivers and creeks. Therefore a flood watch has been issued for the northeast and portion of east central KS. The next shift may need to issue a flood watch for our southeast counties if training of supercell thunderstorms occur, but the current thinking is these training supercells will remain southeast of the CWA. The storms should move east as a cold front pushes east of the CWA during the mid and late morning hours of Monday. We will see a break from the severe weather through the next 7 days. The surface front will become stationary across central TX and southern stream H5 troughs will move east across TX. There may be some showers and thunderstorms Thursday into Thursday night as the H5 trough passes south of the area and surface cold front pushes southward across the CWA. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 201 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 The line of storms that moved through the KMHK terminals will move east across the TOP terminals. Expect brief heavy rainfall with visby reducing down to 1 SM with the line and wind gusts of 40 to 50 KTS as the line moves through. May see scattered showers the rest of the evening. Another round of thunderstorms will move in around 3 AM Monday. There will be MVFR ceilings this evening into Monday morning. |&& .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch from 7 PM CDT this evening through Monday afternoon for KSZ010-KSZ011-KSZ012-KSZ023-KSZ024-KSZ026-KSZ039-KSZ040. && DISCUSSION...Gargan AVIATION...Gargan
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 3:44 AM CDT, 11 hours 44 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Topeka KS 344 AM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-270845- Republic-Washington-Marshall-Nemaha-Brown-Cloud-Clay-Riley- Pottawatomie-Jackson-Jefferson-Ottawa-Dickinson-Geary-Morris- Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon-Osage-Franklin-Coffey-Anderson- 344 AM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Kansas, east central Kansas, north central Kansas and northeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Several rounds of thunderstorms are expected across the entire area today and tonight, with some of these storms being severe. Large hail, damaging winds, locally heavy rain, and a few tornadoes will all be possible, particularly late this evening into the overnight hours. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. 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, Apr 26, 12:38 PM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Topeka KS
1238 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1229 PM Hail Carlton 38.69N 97.29W
04/26/2026 E1.00 Inch Dickinson KS Emergency Mngr
&&
BDLocal storm report, Apr 26, 12:53 PM CDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Topeka KS
1253 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1250 PM Hail 6 NNW Hope 38.77N 97.11W
04/26/2026 M1.00 Inch Dickinson KS Public
&&
BDLocal storm report, Apr 26, 1:10 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Topeka KS
110 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0108 PM Hail 4 W White City 38.80N 96.82W
04/26/2026 M1.00 Inch Morris KS Trained Spotter
&&
BDLocal storm report, Apr 26, 3:14 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Topeka KS
314 PM CDT Sun Apr 26 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0303 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 4 ENE Reading 38.55N 95.90W
04/26/2026 M70 MPH Osage KS Storm Chaser
measured with hand held anemometer.
&&
BDThe office that day
Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 7:14 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | TOP | Cloud | 31 min |
| Apr 25, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Cloud, Ottawa | 34 min |
| Apr 25, 8:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Cloud, Ottawa | 35 min |
| Apr 25, 8:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Ottawa | 25 min |
| Apr 25, 8:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay | 36 min |
| Apr 25, 9:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Dickinson, Geary, Riley | 35 min |
| Apr 25, 9:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Dickinson, Geary, Riley | 18 min |
| Apr 25, 9:54 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | TOP | Geary, Riley | 36 min |
| Apr 25, 10:27 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | TOP | Riley | 33 min |
| Apr 25, 10:57 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | TOP | Riley | 33 min |
| Apr 26, 11:03 AM CDT | Flood Watch | TOP | Brown, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall, Nemaha and 2 more | 20 hr |
| Apr 26, 11:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Dickinson | 42 min |
| Apr 26, 12:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Dickinson | 34 min |
| Apr 26, 12:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Dickinson, Geary, Riley | 42 min |
| Apr 26, 12:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Dickinson, Geary, Morris, Riley | 54 min |
| Apr 26, 1:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Geary, Pottawatomie, Riley | 45 min |
| Apr 26, 1:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Geary, Lyon, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, Wabaunsee | 46 min |
| Apr 26, 1:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley | 39 min |
| Apr 26, 2:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Jackson, Lyon, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie, Shawnee and 1 more | 53 min |
| Apr 26, 2:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Lyon | 64 min |
| Apr 26, 2:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Lyon, Osage, Shawnee, Wabaunsee | 51 min |
| Apr 26, 3:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Coffey, Lyon, Osage | 42 min |
| Apr 26, 3:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Osage | 22 min |
| Apr 26, 3:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Douglas, Franklin, Osage, Shawnee | 66 min |
| Apr 26, 3:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Anderson, Coffey | 54 min |
| Apr 26, 4:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Anderson | 29 min |
| Apr 26, 4:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Franklin | 24 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes 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.