Kansas, 2001

Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 17, 2001

May 17, 2001 · NWS TOP · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

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

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
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 May 17, 3:00 AM CST, 10 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 3:00 AM CST, 10 hours 1 minute before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
400 AM CDT THU MAY 17 2001

PCPN CHCS MAIN CONCERN...LESSER QUESTION RE. TEMPS.

EXPECT CONVECTIVELY INDUCED VORT MAX WRN HIGH PLAINS TO MEANDER OUR
WAY THROUGH THE DAY...LIKELY REFIRING CONVECTION...IF INDEED IT EVER
DMSHES. AMT OF CLOUDS WILL DICTATE AMT OF COOLING. IN TIME...CLOUDS
SLOW TO LEAVE PER PREFERRED ETA MODEL. LITTLE LIFT REMAINS LATE
TONIGHT AND FRIDAY BUT CLOUDS SLOWLY DMSH.

SFC FNT DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW WITH LARGE COMPLEX TO THE WEST.
HOWEVER...LATEST 06Z RUN OF MESO-ETA SHOWS PCPN IN LATER THIS MRNG
AS CONVECTIVELY INDUCED VORTICITY MOVES THROUGH AREA. ANOTHER ROUND
OF PCPN THIS EVENING...MAINLY SOUTHEAST OF THE TURNPIKE...AS MAIN
PTN OF UPPER WAVE MOVES THROUGH. AM BANKING ON SOME DOWNWARD MOTION
AND CLEARING PER ETA FORECAST ON FRIDAY. THUS EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO
RETURN TO NEAR SEASONAL LEVELS ON FRIDAY. IF CLOUDS LINGER
LONGER...THEN TEMPS FRIDAY MAY BE A BIT TOO WARM.

.TOP...NONE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Douglas

When
May 17, 1:01 PM CST
Where
Douglas County, Lawrence
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.967, -95.233

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When
May 17, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Franklin County, 1 mi S of Ottawa
Measured
62 kt (71 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
38.600, -95.267

Hail, Franklin

When
May 17, 2:42 PM CST
Where
Franklin County, Rantoul
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.550, -95.100

Hail, Franklin

When
May 17, 2:47 PM CST
Where
Franklin County, Rantoul
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.550, -95.100

Hail, Coffey

When
May 17, 2:53 PM CST
Where
Coffey County, Burlington
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.200, -95.750

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 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: 5240944, 5240945, 5240946, 5240947, 5240948.