Hail, Doniphan
- When
- May 11, 6:35 PM CST
- Where
- Doniphan County, Troy
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.783, -95.083
Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 11 to 12, 2000
Thunderstorms developed rapidly south of a cold front in eastern Kansas, and then tracked eastward. While the early evening storms were primarily hail producers, one late evening storm produced a tornado that tracked across southern Leavenworth County, resulting in damage in Tonganoxie.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2.6 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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 EAX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed rapidly south of a cold front in eastern Kansas, and then tracked eastward. While the early evening storms were primarily hail producers, one late evening storm produced a tornado that tracked across southern Leavenworth County, resulting in damage in Tonganoxie.
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:35 UTC.
Event by event
6 hail, 1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Atchison
- When
- May 11, 7:05 PM CST
- Where
- Atchison County, Effingham
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 39.517, -95.400
Hail, Atchison
- When
- May 11, 7:12 PM CST
- Where
- Atchison County, 2 mi W of Atchison
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 39.567, -95.167
Tornado, Leavenworth
- When
- May 11, 8:40 PM CST to 9:12 PM CST
- Where
- Leavenworth County, 6 mi WSW of Tonganoxie
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 16 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $2.6 million
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 39.083, -95.183
The tornado, which had formed in Jefferson County, entered southwestern Leavenworth County at around 9:40 pm CDT, 6 miles west-southwest of Tonganoxie. The tornado moved east-northeast and lifted 2 miles north of Basehor at 10:12 pm. The 16 mile long path was as wide as 1/4 mile at times, though the average was around 100 yards wide. In Leavenworth County, 200 homes were affected and six were destroyed. One apartment building suffered roof damage. Thirteen businesses were damaged, and two were destroyed. The Leavenworth County Fairgrounds in Tonganoxie suffered extensive damage, approaching a half-million dollars. Total damage was estimated by County Emergency Management officials at $2.6 million.
Hail, Leavenworth
- When
- May 11, 8:51 PM CST
- Where
- Leavenworth County, 2 mi W of Springdale
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.250, -95.150
Thunderstorm Wind, Leavenworth
- When
- May 11, 8:57 PM CST
- Where
- Leavenworth County, 2 mi W of Tonganoxie
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph)
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.117, -95.117
Law enforcement officials estimated 70 mph wind gusts just west of Tonganoxie.
Hail, Wyandotte
- When
- May 11, 9:20 PM CST
- Where
- Wyandotte County, Wolcott
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
- Coordinates
- 39.183, -94.817
Hail, Doniphan
- When
- May 12, 12:40 AM CST
- Where
- Doniphan County, Wathena
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.750, -94.950
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 11, 2000
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, May 11 to 12, 2000
- Heat in Texas, May 11, 2000
- Tornadoes and Flood in Iowa, May 11, 2000
- Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, May 11 to 12, 2000
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 11, 2000
- High Surf in California, May 11 to 12, 2000
- Hail in Iowa, May 11, 2000
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Michigan, May 11, 2000
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 11, 2000
- Hail in Iowa, May 11, 2000
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 11, 2000
More
Every storm in Kansas in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2000Warnings in Kansas, May 2000
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: 5148138, 5148140, 5148139, 5148410, 5148141, 5148144, 5148142, 5148143.