Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 23, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 23, 2001
Start: 2001-08-23T21:40
End: 2001-08-23T22:15
Location: Kansas

August 23, 2001 · NWS TOP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed the evening of the 23rd over north central Kansas and gradually spread to the east. Many storms became severe with numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Thunderstorms developed the evening of the 23rd over north central Kansas and gradually spread to the east. Many storms became severe with numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds. In addition, heavy rains produced runoff that covered some roads near Delphos for a time.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 23, 3:05 PM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 3:05 PM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
405 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL TONIGHT AND FRIDAY.

DISCREPANCIES IN MODELS AS TO HOW PRECIPITATION EVENT WILL EVOLVE
OVERNIGHT INTO FRIDAY. OBVIOUSLY WOULD EXPECT TO SEE HEAVY RAINS
ACCOMPANYING UPPER LOW EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN NEBRASKA/NORTHERN KS
OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER ETA INDICATING HEAVIEST RAINS TO BE OVER
SOUTHERN KANSAS WHILE AVN STARTS OUT PRECIP IN SOUTH BUT SHIFTS IT
NORTH TO NORTH CENTRAL/NORTHEAST KS BY 12Z. NGM QPF WAS SOMEWHAT OF
A COMPROMISE OF ETA/AVN...PLACING HEAVY RAINS IN EMP AREA. CURRENT
SURFACE ANALYSIS/SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM
OVERNIGHT CONVECTION FROM NORTH OF CNU TO SOUTH OF EMP TO SOUTH OF
SLN AND ON NORTHWEST INTO CONVECTION OVER NORTHWEST KS. MSAS SHOWS
RELATIVELY STABLE AIR OVER NORTHEAST KS WITH INSTABILITY AXIS AND
CONVERGENCE ALONG BOUNDARY. TCU NOTED ALONG BOUNDARY ON LATEST VIS
WITH RADARS SHOWING A FEW ECHOES DEVELOPING ALONG BOUNDARY. THUS
BELIEVE HEAVIEST RAIN POTENTIAL WILL BE NEAR BOUNDARY OVER SOUTHWEST
HALF CWA OVERNIGHT WITH NORTHEAST KS HAVING LEAST CHANCES OF HEAVY
RAINS. GOING WITH LIKELY POPS OVER ENTIRE CWA.

FOR FRIDAY...WILL CONTINUE WITH LIKELY POPS FOR ENTIRE AREA AS UPPER
LOW MOVES EAST ALONG KS/NEBRASKA BORDER THROUGH CWA. WILL ALSO KEEP
MENTION OF HEAVY RAINS IN NORTHERN HALF OF CWA WHERE 850 MB
TROUGH/LOW WILL RESIDE. WILL CUT BACK ON TEMPERATURES...ESPECIALLY
NORTHERN PART OF CWA...DUE TO CLOUDS AND LIKELY PRECIPITATION.

FOR FRIDAY NIGHT...SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS STILL LOOKING LIKELY INTO
THE EVENING HOURS ACROSS EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF CWA...WILL CUT BACK
TO CHANCE POPS FOR WESTERN PORTION.

UPPER TROUGH FINALLY WILL BE EXITING EASTERN PART OF CWA SATURDAY
MORNING...BUT MAY SEE A FEW SHOWERS LINGERING EARLY IN THE DAY OVER
THE NORTHEAST SO KEPT 20 PERCENT POPS THERE. OTHERWISE...GRADUAL
CLEARING FROM THE WEST DURING THE DAY. CUT FWC TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY
TO MID AND UPPER 80S.

.TOP...NONE.

38

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 8:31 PM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
931 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0923 PM    RANDOLPH                  KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/23/01   RILEY

Local storm report, Aug 23, 8:34 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
934 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0926 PM    2 W MILFORD
           NEAR CURTIS CREEK        KS       1 INCH HAIL
08/23/01   GEARY

Local storm report, Aug 23, 8:55 PM CST, 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
955 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0950 PM    2 W OLSBURG               KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/23/01   POTTAWATOMIE

Special weather statement, Aug 23, 9:05 PM CST, 35 minutes before

KSZ008-020-021-034-035-240335-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1005 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 692 HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT
10 PM FOR REPUBLIC...CLOUD...OTTAWA...CLAY...AND DICKINSON
COUNTIES.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT...
HOWEVER THEY ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

Local storm report, Aug 23, 9:07 PM CST, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1007 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0930  PM   LEONARDVILLE              KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/23/01   RILEY                           TREE LIMBS DOWN

Local storm report, Aug 23, 9:12 PM CST, 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1012 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1005 PM    2 W FRANKFORT             KS    70 MPH TSTM GUST
08/23/01   MARSHALL

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:39 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nemaha

When: August 23, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Nemaha County, 1 mi N of Corning
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.667, -96.033

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: August 23, 10:15 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Oskaloosa
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.217, -95.317

What these are

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

Every storm in Kansas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, August 2001

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: 5260123, 5260124.