Kansas, 1999

Flash Flooding and Flood in Kansas, May 22 to 23, 1999

May 22 to 23, 1999 · NWS TOP · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Heavy rains from thunderstorms caused extensive flash flooding in the mentioned counties. 5 miles west of Chapman for a time.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

Heavy rains from thunderstorms caused extensive flash flooding in the mentioned counties. One foot of water was over old highway 40 2.5 miles west of Chapman for a time. Cars were washed off highway 18 near Chapman Creek. Seven people were rescued from stalled cars on Interstate 70 east of Abilene. Two more people were rescued from stalled cars on highway K-18 and 2 more off old highway 40. Roads were flooded south of Osage City and a woman was stranded in a vehicle for a time due to the flooding. Some motor homes at an RV park were floated down a ditch by heavy runoff from the rains. Thirteen people and 2 vehicles were removed from Ottawa County Lake State Park due to high water.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Osage

When
May 22, 10:00 PM CST to May 23, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Osage forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.652, -95.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Dickinson

When
May 22, 10:30 PM CST to May 23, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Dickinson County, Abilene
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.867, -97.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Geary

When
May 22, 10:30 PM CST to May 23, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Geary County, Junction City
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.002, -96.752 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ottawa

When
May 22, 10:40 PM CST to May 23, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Ottawa County, Minneapolis
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.133, -97.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 1999

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: 5698409, 5698408, 5698411, 5698410.