Flash Flood, Wabaunsee
- When
- May 31, 7:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wabaunsee County, Hessdale
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $99,000
- Crop damage
- $75,000
- Coordinates
- 38.953, -96.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
Torrential rainfall of 4 to 10 inches in about 4 hours caused widespread and severe flash flooding across all of Wabaunsee county, especially the south half of the county. All creeks and streams were out of banks with most rural roads watered covered, flooded and/or damaged due to the heavy rain.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $99,000
- Crop damage
- $75,000
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.
Torrential rainfall of 4 to 10 inches in about 4 hours caused widespread and severe flash flooding across all of Wabaunsee county, especially the south half of the county. All creeks and streams were out of banks with most rural roads watered covered, flooded and/or damaged due to the heavy rain. The death occurred when a motorist returning home was overtaken by the high water at a creek crossing about 1/4 mile east of Hessdale, and about 3 miles from the man's home. The car was found the next day about 1/4 mile downstream from the crossing while the mans body was found about 3/4 mile downstream, about 15 to 18 hours after estimated time of the incident and death. The man was presummed to have drowned but had a minor medical problem. M59IW
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Wabaunsee | 1996-05-31 | 59 | Male | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes in South Dakota, May 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Tornadoes in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, May 31, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 31, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, May 31, 1996
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5555387.