Thunderstorms developed over north central and northeast Kansas during the mid afternoon hours of the 27th and continued into the early morning hours of the 28th. Some of the storms became severe and produced numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds.
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 over north central and northeast Kansas during the mid afternoon hours of the 27th and continued into the early morning hours of the 28th. Some of the storms became severe and produced numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds. Lightning struck several locations doing considerable damage. There was also one report of flash flooding.
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, 11 hours 15 minutes earlier.
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.
53PRELIMINARY 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 JACKSONPRELIMINARY 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 OTTAWAPRELIMINARY 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 OTTAWAPRELIMINARY 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
DOWNPRELIMINARY 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 WINDPRELIMINARY 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 OTTAWAThe Topeka radar (KTWX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:30 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck an electrical plant and started a fire that did some damage.
Strong winds destroyed a camper trailer.
Heavy rains caused rapid runoff that flooded some businesses between Ogden and Manhattan.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, July 2002
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: 5304551, 5304552, 5304625.