There were numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds. Heavy rains from the thunderstorms caused some flash flooding as well.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed near the Nebraska border the evening of the 18th and continued to the early morning hours of the 19th.There were numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds. Heavy rains from the thunderstorms caused some flash flooding as well.
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 19, 2:03 AM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
303 AM CDT THU JUL 19 2001
HEAT AND RAIN CHANCES MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS.
OVERNIGHT CONVECTION HAS LAID DOWN OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES ACROSS THE
CWA...BUT STORMS HAVE MAINLY BEEN CONFINED TO THE NORTHERN ZONES.
EXPECT STORMS THERE TO CONTINUE PAST SUNRISE AS LOW LEVEL JET FEEDS
HIGH THETA-E AIR INTO THE CONVECTION. SOME LINGERING PRECIP AND
CLOUD DEBRIS MAY HOLD TEMPS DOWN A TAD IN THE NORTHEAST...BUT STILL
THINK MID 90S ATTAINABLE. ALSO WITH RAIN THAT HAS FALLEN...EXPECT
LOCALIZED DEW POINTS TO BE HIGHER. SO COMBINATION OF HEAT AND
HUMIDITY WILL STILL BE IN ADVISORY RANGE. BASICALLY SAME STORY FOR
FRIDAY...SO WILL CONTINUE WITH HEAT ADVISORY FOR ALL OF CWA.
WITH UNCERTAINTY OF WHERE BOUNDARIES WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON...FEEL
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A CHANCE OF FIRING JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE BY LATE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. 00Z MESO ETA SHOWED A
NORTHWEST-SOUTHEAST BOUNDARY BISECTING THE CWA...WITH THE 06Z RUN
NOT MUCH DIFFERENT. CAPES FORECAST TO BE IN THE 3500-5000 J/KG
RANGE ALONG THE BOUNDARY WITH CINH VALUES REASONABLY LOW. THUS WILL
ADD SLIGHT CHANCE POPS SOUTH WHERE MID LEVEL TEMPS ARE WARMER...AND
CHANCE POPS NORTH THIS AFTERNOON. ALL OF THE CWA WILL HAVE CHANCE
POPS OVERNIGHT.
EXPECT BOUNDARY TO SHIFT A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH ON FRIDAY WITH UPPER
RIDGE BEGINNING TO BRING MORE CAPPING INFLUENCE TO MORE OF THE CWA.
WILL RUN WITH SLIGHT CHANCE AFTERNOON AND CHANCE POPS EVENING IN THE
NORTHERN ZONES.
HEAT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EXTENDED AS UPPER RIDGE IS SHOWING NO
SIGNS OF BREAKING DOWN.
.TOP...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST...
AND EAST CENTRAL KS.
62The Topeka radar (KTWX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:02 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains produced flash flooding. Water covered U.S. 75 1 mile north of Sabetha as well as some street flooding within Sabetha for a time.
Heavy rains caused flash flooding. Deer creek went out of its banks with flooding of nearby fields for a time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, July 2001
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: 5253579, 5253580.