Kansas, 2002Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 27 to 28, 2002
July 27 to 28, 2002 · NWS TOP · 3 events in 1 county or zone
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 27, 2:06 PM CST, 9 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 27, 2:06 PM CST, 9 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
306 PM CDT SAT JUL 27 2002
HEAT AND PRECIPITATION CHANCES MAIN CONCERNS.
ELEVATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70
THIS AFTERNOON IN ELEVATED INSTABILITY AXIS. STORMS LIKELY TO
INCREASE THIS EVENING AS CAP WEAKENS...SOUNDINGS SUGGEST WINDS TO BE
THE MAIN THREAT...WILL ADD SEVERE WORDING TONIGHT TO THE NORTHERN
ZONES.
ANOTHER WARM NIGHT INSTORE AS TEMPS REMAIN WARM AND DEWPOINTS HOVER
AROUND 70...DITTO FOR SUNDAY AS HIGHS REACH UP INTO THE UPPER 90S
NEAR 100. MORNING CLOUD DEBRIS A CONCERN NEAR THE NEBRASKA BORDER
BUT SHOULD ERODE BY AFTERNOON. WILL KEEP A HEAT ADVISORY GOING FOR
MOST OF NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS ON SUNDAY.
MODELS AGREE ON EJECTION OF A SHORTWAVE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON
SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. ETA/MESO ETA MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH ITS QPF
BUT MAY BE ON TARGET TO GIVE PARCHED SOIL SOME RELIEF. WILL INCREASE
POPS SUNDAY NIGHT AND WILL TAPER FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ON
MONDAY AS SYSTEM MOVES EAST AND FRONT SLIDES SOUTH. ANOTHER CHANCE
FOR SEVERE WEATHER AGAIN ON SUNDAY NIGHT.
NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN COMES THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY AS ANOTHER
FRONT SETS UP NEAR THE NEBRASKA/KANSAS BORDER ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE
OF THE WESTERLIES. EXPECT MCS DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN NEBRASKA TO
MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS. WILL KEEP HIGHEST POPS NEAR
THE NEBRASKA BORDER.
.TOP...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH SUNDAY FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
KANSAS...MAINLY EAST OF HIGHWAY 77.
53In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 27, 8:52 PM CST, 3 hours 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
952 PM CDT SAT JUL 27 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0950 PM 5 N DELIA KS .75 INCH HAIL
07/27/02 JACKSONLocal storm report, Jul 27, 10:02 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1102 PM CDT SAT JUL 27 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1055 PM 3 N TESCOTT KS .75 INCH HAIL
07/27/02 OTTAWALocal storm report, Jul 27, 10:40 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1140 PM CDT SAT JUL 27 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1140 PM 3 N BENNINGTON KS 60 MPH TSTM GUST
07/27/02 OTTAWALocal storm report, Jul 27, 10:55 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1155 PM CDT SAT JUL 27 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1155 PM TESCOTT KS WIND DAMAGE
07/27/02 OTTAWA TREES AND POWER LINES
DOWNLocal storm report, Jul 27, 11:06 PM CST, 50 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1206 AM CDT SUN JUL 28 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1145 PM JAMESTOWN KS WIND DAMAGE
07/27/02 CLOUD TREES DOWN, STREET
LIGHTS KNOCKED OFF
POLES BY WINDLocal storm report, Jul 27, 11:10 PM CST, 46 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1210 AM CDT SUN JUL 28 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1202 AM BENNINGTON KS .88 INCH HAIL
07/28/02 OTTAWALightning, Riley
- When
- July 27, 11:56 PM CST
- Where
- Riley County, Manhattan
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.297, -96.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck the roof of a building and started a fire that did 2 thousand dollars damage.
Thunderstorm Wind, Riley
- When
- July 28, 12:05 AM CST
- Where
- Riley County, Manhattan
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph)
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.183, -96.583
Thunderstorm Wind, Riley
- When
- July 28, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Riley County, 1 mi SW of Manhattan
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.167, -96.600
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Michigan, July 27 to 28, 20022 injured · $620,000 · F1 · 5 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, July 27, 2002$860,000 · 80 kt wind · 9 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 27, 2002$250,000 · 1 in hail · 31 events
- Tornado in Florida, July 27, 2002$100,000 · F1 · 1 event
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, July 27, 2002$80,000 · F0 · 2 events
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Ohio, July 27, 2002$38,000 · 50 kt wind · 9 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 27, 2002$27,000 · 0.75 in hail · 4 events
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 27, 2002$25,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, July 27, 2002$25,000 · 1 event
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 27, 2002$20,000 · 56 kt wind · 3 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 27, 20021 injured · $12,000 · 61 kt wind · 5 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, July 27, 20021.75 in hail · 14 events
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: 5304548, 5304549, 5304550.