Kansas, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, June 15, 2002

June 15, 2002 · NWS GID · 12 events in 4 counties and zones

An early morning hail and wind storm mowed down wheat and alfalfa fields, and fell many power poles in Phillips and Rooks counties. The storms moved south from south-central Nebraska and pummeled the area with hail, which drifted a foot deep, and wind gusts to 70 mph.

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
$160,000
Crop damage
$4.5 million
Events
12

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 happened

The episode as NWS GID wrote it up.

An early morning hail and wind storm mowed down wheat and alfalfa fields, and fell many power poles in Phillips and Rooks counties. The storms moved south from south-central Nebraska and pummeled the area with hail, which drifted a foot deep, and wind gusts to 70 mph. Power poles were reported down all across Rooks county. Crop damage alone was estimated at about 4 million dollars.

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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 15, 1:45 AM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 1:45 AM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
245 AM CDT SAT JUN 15 2002

PRECIP CHANCES MAIN CONCERN FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE.

SATELLITE/ANALYSES SHOWED NW/SE JET ACROSS UPPER MIDWEST WITH A
COUPLE OF THUNDERSTORM CLUSTERS ACROSS THE DAKOTAS. A WEAK SURFACE
BOUNDARY ACROSS SDAK SHOULD BE FORTIFIED AND PUSHED SOUTHWARD AS A
RESULT TODAY.  MEANWHILE...A COUPLE OF H7 WAVES OVER THE ROCKIES
WILL BE COMING OVER THE WRN US RIDGE AND SUPPLIED ADDITIONAL ENERGY
BY GREAT BASIN JET. MOISTURE IS QUITE LIMITED BUT MODELS PERSIST IN
GENERATING PCPN OVER MUCH OF THE CWFA TODAY.

BELIEVE THE LATTER MENTIONED SYSTEM HAS THE BETTER DYNAMICS AND
MOISTURE TO WORK WITH.  ADDITIONALLY...PROGGED LAPSE RATES APPEAR
BEST IN THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON. THEREFORE WILL ADD A SLGT CHC POP
TO THE WRN CWFA TODAY...BUT DAY SHIFT SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON NORTHERN
STREAM ACTIVITY.

APPEARS THAT MOST OF THE MID LEVEL ENERGY WILL BE DOWNSTREAM OF GID
CWFA BY TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH A WEAK BOUNDARY MAY REMAIN.  WITH BEST
CONVECTION FOCUSED TO THE SOUTH...WILL REMOVE THUNDER MENTION HERE
TONIGHT.  NEXT WAVE...ALTHOUGH HARD TO TIME IN NW FLOW...SHOULD
AFFECT AREA BEGINNING SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS PER PREVIOUS FORECAST.
PERHAPS THERE WILL BE A BIT MORE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH BY THEN.
AGREE WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST THAT BEST CHANCE FIGURES TO BE SUNDAY
NIGHT AS COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH.  MAY BE SOME LINGERING SHOWERS
SE MONDAY MORNING BUT WILL LET NEXT SHIFT REFINE THIS WORDING.

TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE ABLE TO WARM TO NEAR FRIDAYS LEVELS WITH A
SLIGHTLY WARMER START.  HOWEVER...BACKDOOR FRONT IN THE NORTHEAST
AND INCREASING CLOUDS OVER THE SW MAY HOLD TEMPS A BIT IN CHECK.
LOWER 80S IN GENERAL.  SIMILAR MAX TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED FOR THE
NEXT FEW DAYS...WHILE SOME MODERATION FROM CHILLY OVERNIGHT LOWS IS
EXPECTED AS MOISTURE WORKS BACK INTO THE AREA.

WILL CONTINUE CHANCES FOR TSTMS WEDNESDAY/NIGHT WITH DECENT FRONT
COMING THROUGH AREA.  WILL LEAVE THU/FRI DRY FOR NOW ALTHOUGH MRF
HINTING AT FLATTENING UPPER FLOW AND A POSSIBLE STALLING OF THE
FRONTAL BOUNDARY.

.GID...NONE.

DROZD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 15, 3:38 AM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
438 AM CDT SAT JUN 15 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT ACROSS
NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS OR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING
AND EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WEST OF HIGHWAY 183.  HOWEVER...DUE TO
LIMITED MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO
BECOME SEVERE.

DROZD

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:34 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Rooks

When
June 15, 5:37 AM CST
Where
Rooks County, 2 mi N of Palco
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.283, -99.567

Hail, Phillips

When
June 15, 9:30 AM CST
Where
Phillips County, 6 mi SE of Long Is
Measured
0.75 in hail
Crop damage
$400,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.883, -99.450

Hail, Phillips

When
June 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Phillips County, 12 mi N of Agra
Measured
1.5 in hail
Property damage
$10,000
Crop damage
$450,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.933, -99.117

Hail, Smith

When
June 15, 12:10 PM CST
Where
Smith County, 9 mi N of Kensington
Measured
1 in hail
Property damage
$10,000
Crop damage
$500,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.900, -99.033

Hail, Smith

When
June 15, 12:55 PM CST
Where
Smith County, 2 mi E of Athol
Measured
1 in hail
Crop damage
$400,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.767, -98.883

Hail, Phillips

When
June 15, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Phillips County, 2 mi N of Logan
Measured
0.75 in hail
Crop damage
$400,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.700, -99.567

Hail, Phillips

When
June 15, 1:22 PM CST
Where
Phillips County, 3 mi SW of Glade
Measured
1.75 in hail
Property damage
$10,000
Crop damage
$400,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.650, -99.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Rooks

When
June 15, 1:25 PM CST
Where
Rooks County, Stockton
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$75,000
Crop damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.433, -99.283

Hail, Rooks

When
June 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Rooks County, 2 mi E of Codell
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.200, -99.150

Hail, Osborne

When
June 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Osborne County, 5 mi N of Natoma
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.250, -99.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Rooks

When
June 15, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Rooks County, Palco
Measured
62 kt (71 mph)
Property damage
$25,000
Crop damage
$500,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.250, -99.567

Thunderstorm Wind, Rooks

When
June 15, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Rooks County, Codell
Measured
62 kt (71 mph)
Property damage
$25,000
Crop damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.200, -99.183

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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, June 2002

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: 5306381, 5306382, 5306383, 5306384, 5306385, 5306386, 5306387, 5306388, 5306389, 5306390, 5306392, 5306391.