Tornado and Flash Flood in Kansas, May 30 to 31, 1999

Name: Tornado and Flash Flood in Kansas, May 30 to 31, 1999
Start: 1999-05-30T18:06
End: 1999-05-31T22:10
Location: Kansas

May 30 to 31, 1999 · NWS ICT · 28 events in 8 counties and zones

23 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $11,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 28

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.

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 146 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lincoln

When: May 30, 6:06 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 3 mi SE of Westfall
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 38.900, -97.970

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 6:23 PM CST to 6:29 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 2 mi N of Glendale
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 38.930, -97.870

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 6:29 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 1 mi S of Glendale
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 38.880, -97.870

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 2 mi S of Glendale
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.870, -97.870

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 7 mi NW of Salina
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.900, -97.700

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 6:52 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 8 mi E of Glendale
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.900, -97.720

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 1 mi E of Hedville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 38.870, -97.730

Hail, Saline

When: May 30, 7:28 PM CST
Where: Saline County, 4 mi NW of Salina
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 38.870, -97.650

Hail, Harper

When: May 31, 1:15 AM CST
Where: Harper County, 6 mi SW of Attica
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.170, -98.320

Hail, Sedgwick

When: May 31, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Sedgwick County, Wichita
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 37.700, -97.330

Occurred at 21st St./Webb Rd. intersection in East Wichita.

Hail, Sedgwick

When: May 31, 2:05 AM CST
Where: Sedgwick County, Wichita
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.700, -97.330

Occurred in South Wichita.

Hail, Butler

When: May 31, 2:11 AM CST
Where: Butler County, Rose Hill
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.570, -97.130

Hail, Butler

When: May 31, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Butler County, Smileyburg
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.520, -96.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Cowley

When: May 31, 2:35 AM CST to 2:38 AM CST
Where: Cowley County, Burden
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.320, -96.750

Gusts ranged from 52-61kt.

Hail, Cowley

When: May 31, 2:38 AM CST
Where: Cowley County, Burden
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.320, -96.750

Hail, Russell

When: May 31, 7:14 PM CST
Where: Russell County, 10 mi N of Russell
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.030, -98.850

Hail, Russell

When: May 31, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Russell County, 7 mi SW of Paradise
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.050, -99.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Russell

When: May 31, 7:26 PM CST
Where: Russell County, Russell
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 38.880, -98.850

Measured at Radio Station KRSL.

Hail, Russell

When: May 31, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Russell County, 7 mi N of Dorrance
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.950, -98.580

Hail, Lincoln

When: May 31, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 5 mi SW of Sylvan Grove
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.970, -98.450

Hail, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, 7 mi N of Ellsworth
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.830, -98.230

Hail, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:35 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, 6 mi N of Ellsworth
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.820, -98.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:35 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, 6 mi N of Ellsworth
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.820, -98.230

Tornado, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:40 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, Ellsworth to 2 mi of Ellsworth
Rating: F0
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 55 yd
Property damage: $11,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 38.770, -98.230

Several steel plates 3 feet X 20 feet were blown more than 100 feet, the Ellsworth Service Center was damaged, and several trees were blown down.

Hail, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:41 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, 10 mi NE of Ellsworth
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.830, -98.100

Occurred at I-70/K-156 interchange.

Hail, Ellsworth

When: May 31, 8:59 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County, 17 mi NE of Ellsworth
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.900, -98.020

Hail, Saline

When: May 31, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Saline County, Brookville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 38.770, -97.870

Windows broken.

Flash Flood, Saline

When: May 31, 10:10 PM CST
Where: Saline County, Salina
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.784, -97.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Streets flooded in Salina.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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

Every storm in Kansas in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 1999 Warnings 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: 5690480, 5690481, 5690482, 5690483, 5690484, 5690485, 5690486, 5690487, 5690488, 5690493, 5690489, 5690490, 5690492, 5690491, 5690494, 5690495, 5690496, 5690497, 5690498, 5690499, 5690500, 5690501, 5690502, 5690801, 5690797, 5690798, 5690799, 5690800.