Kansas, 1999

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 31, 1999

May 31, 1999 · NWS DDC · 32 events in 6 counties and zones

24 hail, 4 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 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
$43,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
32

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 Dodge City radar (KDDC), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 hail, 4 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Seward

When
May 31, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Seward County, 12 mi N of Kismet
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.370, -100.700

Tornado, Meade

When
May 31, 4:50 PM CST to 4:57 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Meade to 11 mi WNW of Meade
Rating
F0
Path length
2 mi
Path width
30 yd
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
37.350, -100.520

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 4:55 PM CST
Where
Meade County, 10 mi N of Plains
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.420, -100.600

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Missler
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.320, -100.430

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Meade County, 4 mi ENE of Plains
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
37.280, -100.530

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:19 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Meade
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.280, -100.330

Tornado, Meade

When
May 31, 5:25 PM CST to 5:26 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Meade to 2 mi SE of Meade
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
37.250, -100.300

Windows blown out of a house.

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Meade
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.280, -100.330

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Meade County, Plains to 5 mi E of Plains
Measured
4.75 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
37.250, -100.520

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:35 PM CST
Where
Meade County, 6 mi NE of Meade
Measured
4.5 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.350, -100.250

Hail, Meade

When
May 31, 5:50 PM CST
Where
Meade County, 9 mi E of Meade
Measured
2.5 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.280, -100.170

Hail, Clark

When
May 31, 5:59 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 10 mi S of Minneola
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.280, -99.970

Hail, Ellis

When
May 31, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Ellis County, 11 mi NE of Hays
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.980, -99.170

Tornado, Clark

When
May 31, 6:30 PM CST to 6:38 PM CST
Where
Clark County, Sitka to 4 mi SSE of Sitka
Rating
F1
Path length
4.2 mi
Path width
150 yd
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
37.150, -99.720

Tree row heavily damaged.

Hail, Clark

When
May 31, 6:36 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 9 mi NNE of Sitka
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
37.300, -99.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When
May 31, 6:39 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 5 mi S of Sitka
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.120, -99.670

Ten power poles taken down by the RearFlank Downdraft.

Hail, Ellis

When
May 31, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Ellis County, 16 mi NE of Hays
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.030, -99.100

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, Protection
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.200, -99.480

Hail, Clark

When
May 31, 6:46 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 9 mi NNE of Sitka
Measured
1.5 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
37.300, -99.600

Tornado, Comanche

When
May 31, 6:50 PM CST to 6:55 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, Protection to 3 mi S of Protection
Rating
F1
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
75 yd
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.170, -99.500

Mature cottonwood grove taken out.

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 6:55 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 1 mi SW of Protection
Measured
2.5 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.180, -99.500

Hail, Clark

When
May 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 11 mi NE of Ashland
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.300, -99.630

Hail, Clark

When
May 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 4 mi NE of Sitka
Measured
4 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
37.220, -99.620

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 7:12 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 5 mi WNW of Coldwater
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.300, -99.420

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 12 mi SE of Coldwater
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.150, -99.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Barber

When
May 31, 7:40 PM CST
Where
Barber County, 3 mi ESE of Sharon
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.230, -98.380

Barn damaged.

Lightning, Barber

When
May 31, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Barber County, 4 mi E of Sharon
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.229, -98.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

House struck.

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 22 mi SE of Coldwater
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.030, -99.050

Hail, Barber

When
May 31, 8:08 PM CST
Where
Barber County, Hardtner
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.020, -98.650

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 8:12 PM CST
Where
Comanche County, 4 mi NW of Coldwater
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.300, -99.380

Hail, Barber

When
May 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Barber County, 3 mi SW of Sharon
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.220, -98.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Barber

When
May 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Barber County, 2 mi SW of Sharon
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.230, -98.470

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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 historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1999Warnings 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: 5702399, 5702400, 5702401, 5702402, 5702403, 5702404, 5702405, 5702406, 5702509, 5702510, 5702511, 5702512, 5702513, 5702514, 5702515, 5702516, 5702517, 5702518, 5702519, 5702521, 5702520, 5702522, 5702523, 5702524, 5702525, 5702526, 5702527, 5702528, 5702529, 5702530, 5702531, 5702532.