Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 18, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 18, 2001
Start: 2001-07-18T19:50
End: 2001-07-18T20:45
Location: Kansas

July 18, 2001 · NWS TOP · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

4 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: $6,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 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 Jul 18, 1:30 PM CST, 6 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 1:30 PM CST, 6 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
230 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

MAIN FORECAST PROBLEMS ARE THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT AND THUNDERSTORMS
CHANCES OVERNIGHT.

TWO AREAS OF CONCERN TONIGHT FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.  FIRST IS
BOUNDARY SEEN ON KTWX RADAR FROM TUTTLE CREEK LAKE TO SOUTH OF
TOPEKA.  DECENT CONVERGENCE IS OCCURRING ALONG THIS BOUNDARY WITH
CAPES APPROACHING 5000 J/KG.  NOT SURE IF CAP WILL ABLE TO BE BROKEN
ALONG THIS BOUNDARY THIS EVENING...BUT IT WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED
FOR EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT.  OTHER AREA OF CONCERN WILL BE AFTER
MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF KANSAS.  EXPECT A MCS TO
DEVELOP ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA...AND THEN SLIDE SOUTH SOUTHEAST PER
CORFIDI VECTORS AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS OVER
NORTHEAST KANSAS OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING TO ADDRESS THIS.

OTHERWISE EXPECT OPPRESSIVE TO HEAT CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH
FRIDAY.  ETA 2 METER TEMPERATURES KEEP HIGHS THE 96 TO 103 RANGE
BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.  DEW POINTS TO REMAIN VERY HIGH AS WELL
ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHEAST.  DAYTIME HEAT INDICES LOOK TO APPROACH
110F BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...WITH NIGHTTIME VALUES IN THE LOWER
80S. WILL EXTEND THE HEAT ADVISORY INTO FRIDAY AS NO RELIEF FROM THE
HEAT IS EXPECTED.

MAIN SOURCE OF CLOUDS THE NEXT FEW DAYS LOOKS TO BE CONVECTIVE
DEBRIS FROM MCS CLUSTERS MOVING ACROSS NEBRASKA AND MISSOURI.

PREFER THE ETA 2 METER TEMPERATURES TO THE NGM/FWC AND AVN BASED FAN
AND MAV GUIDANCE FOR TEMPERATURES AS THEY REMAIN TOO COOL.

.TOP...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST
       AND EAST CENTRAL KS.

58

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:16 PM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
716 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0712 PM    HADDAM                    KS    70 MPH TSTM GUST
07/18/01   WASHINGTON

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:26 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
726 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0724 PM    WASHINGTON                KS    WIND DAMAGE
07/18/01   WASHINGTON                      NUMEROUS TREES AND
                                           LIMBS DOWN IN AND
                                           AROUND WASHINGTON

2

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:43 PM CST, 1 hour 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
743 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
H
0740 PM    1 N WASHINGTON            KS    .75 INCH HAIL
07/18/01   WASHINGTON

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:58 PM CST, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
758 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
Q
0755 PM    HANOVER                   KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
07/18/01   WASHINGTON

Local storm report, Jul 18, 7:17 PM CST, 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
817 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0815 PM    OKETO                     KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
07/18/01   MARSHALL

Local storm report, Jul 18, 7:27 PM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
827 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0825 PM    HOME                      KS    75 MPH TSTM GUST
07/18/01   MARSHALL

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:47 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: July 18, 7:50 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, Beattie
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.867, -96.417

Strong winds blew down trees and power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: July 18, 7:50 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, Winifred
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.767, -96.483

Thunderstorm Wind, Nemaha

When: July 18, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Nemaha County, 2 mi NW of Baileyville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.867, -96.217

Thunderstorm Wind, Nemaha

When: July 18, 8:26 PM CST
Where: Nemaha County, 1 mi NW of Corning
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.667, -96.050

Lightning, Nemaha

When: July 18, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Nemaha County, 3 mi W of Sabetha
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.784, -96.014 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck a house and started a fire that did some damage to the interior.

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.
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

Every storm in Kansas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, July 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: 5253566, 5253567, 5253568, 5253569, 5253570.