Flash Flood, Morris
- When
- May 31, 9:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Morris County, Council Grove
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 38.687, -96.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kansas, May 31, 1996
Very heavy rains of 4 to 10 inches produced widespread flooding over the county. Many roads, especially in rural areas, were underwater, closed and/or damaged.
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
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- $40,000
- 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.
Very heavy rains of 4 to 10 inches produced widespread flooding over the county. Many roads, especially in rural areas, were underwater, closed and/or damaged. About 1130pm CST, in Council Grove, an 11 year old boy was wading in rain water when he stepped off into a drainage ditch and was sucked into a culvert under a street. The boy became trapped underwater about 4 to 5 feet inside the culvert tube. It took emergency personnel about 20 to 30 minutes to free the boy. He was taken to a local hospital and revived, then transferred to a Wichita, KS, hospital where he died about 30 hours later on June 2. M11IW
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:10 UTC.
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, Morris | 1996-06-02 | 11 | 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: 5555392.