Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 27, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 27, 2001
Start: 2001-07-27T00:29
End: 2001-07-27T05:45
Location: Kansas

July 27, 2001 · NWS ICT · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

4 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: None recorded
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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 26, 2:08 PM CST, 10 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 2:08 PM CST, 10 hours 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
308 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2001

FOCUS FOR THIS FORECAST IS ON PRECIP CHANCES AND TEMPS. LATEST SFC
MAP SHOWS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM THIS MORNING/S CONVECTION LOCATED
ACROSS OK LEAVING E/SE FLOW ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. MODELS AGREE
THAT 850-700MB WARM AIR ADVECTION INCREASES OVERNIGHT ACROSS
CENTRAL/SOUTH CENTRAL KS. WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY ROTATING AROUND
UPPER RIDGE WILL ALSO ENHANCE PCPN CHANCES. BEST CHANCE FOR PCPN
WILL BE IN NRN ZONES WHERE GREATEST THETA-E CONVERGENCE WILL TAKE
PLACE AS WELL AS 500-300MB DIFF VORT ADV OCCURS. IN ADDITION...
LAPS SHOWING CAP ERODING/LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE INCREASING
NEAR RSL/GBD...SO TSRA EXPECTED TO FORM HERE BEFORE 22Z.

SIMILAR TO TODAY...EXPECT MORNING CONVECTION FRIDAY TO GIVE WAY TO
PARTLY SUNNY SKIES. AVN/ETA AGREE THAT SFC BOUNDARY WILL BE LOCATED
SOMEWHERE ACROSS SRN KS. ETA FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOWING 2500+ J/KG
CAPE IN SRN KS AND VEERING FLOW WITH HEIGHT. IF ETA 1000-850MB
THICKNESSES VERIFY...TEMPS NEAR 100 POSSIBLE SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY
AND CONVERGENCE ALONG THIS FEATURE COULD PRODUCE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS. WILL LEAN TWD WARMER ETA SOLUTION AND KEEP HIGHS IN
THE MID 90S SOUTH TO AROUND 90 NORTH.

UPPER WAVE MOVING THROUGH NRN PLAINS FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT HELP
FLATTEN UPPER RIDGE...WHICH ALLOWS MID/UPPER FLOW TO INCREASE...SO
PCPN SHOULD BE MORE ORGANIZED FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT. FEEL BEST CHANCES
FOR PCPN ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE FRIDAY NIGHT AND 850-700MB
THETA-E RIDGE SETS UP ACROSS SRN KS AND UPPER DIVERGENCE INCREASES.
AS A RESULT...WILL INCREASE POPS ACROSS SRN KS FRIDAY NIGHT.

AGAIN MORNING CONVECTION EXPECTED SATURDAY...AND WITH WAVES MOVING
THROUGH WEST TO EAST MID LEVEL FLOW...SCT TSRA POSSIBLE. WILL SHAVE
TEMPS DOWN A LITTLE SATURDAY AS OUTFLOW FROM MORNING CONVECTION
EXPECTED TO PUSH SOUTH INTO OK.

LITTLE CHANGES WILL BE MADE TO THE EXTENDED...AS MRF/ECMWF/CANADIAN
MODELS ALL AGREE UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS...SO
WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED TO RETURN.

FCSTID = 12/HYSELL
ICT   73  96  72  95 /  30  30  50  30
HUT   73  94  72  95 /  30  30  50  30
EWK   73  95  72  93 /  30  30  50  30
EQA   73  95  72  94 /  30  30  50  30
WLD   74  98  73  95 /  30  30  50  30
RSL   70  92  71  92 /  50  30  50  30
GBD   71  93  71  93 /  50  30  50  30
SLN   72  91  74  91 /  50  30  50  30
MPR   72  92  7t3  92 /  50  30  50  30
CFV   73  96  72  96 /  30  30  50  30
CNU   73  94  72  94 /  30  30  50  30
K88   73  94  72  94 /  30  30  50  30

.ICT...KS...NONE.

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Russell

When: July 27, 12:29 AM CST
Where: Russell County, 17 mi N of Russell
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.133, -98.850

Flash Flood, Russell

When: July 27, 1:00 AM CST to 3:15 AM CST
Where: Russell County, Milberger
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.915, -98.762 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

From Milberger north/northeast to midway between Waldo and Luray some rural and gravel roads washed out and obviously impassable. In Luray, some streets were flooded just over the curbs.

Flash Flood, Lincoln

When: July 27, 2:42 AM CST to 3:53 AM CST
Where: Lincoln County, Lincoln
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.045, -98.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Creek running through city park overflowed. Streets flooded as well.

Flash Flood, Woodson

When: July 27, 4:00 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where: Woodson County, Yates Center
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.887, -95.740 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low water bridges flooded.

Flash Flood, Allen

When: July 27, 4:04 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where: Allen County, Iola
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.886, -95.301 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High water on streets with several vehicles stalled.

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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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: 5251925, 5251926, 5252020, 5251927, 5252019.