Kansas, 2002

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, June 15, 2002

June 15, 2002 · NWS DDC · 41 events in 19 counties and zones

26 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 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
$39,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
41

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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 15, 2:02 AM CST, 10 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 2:02 AM CST, 10 hours 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
302 AM CDT SAT JUN 15 2002

DAYS 1-2...

FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT...250 MB JET MAX NOTED ON THIS EVENINGS U/A
DATA FROM EASTERN COLORADO TO NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA. CONVECTION
FIRED UNDERNEATH RIGHT REAR QUAD OF AFOREMENTIONED JET MAX AND MOVED
SOUTHEAST BEFORE DIMINISHING THIS EVENING. WAA IN THE MID TROP
LEVELS STARTING IN EARNEST PER THE PROFILER DATA AND SHORT TERM
MODEL SOLUTIONS. THINK THAT MID-LEVEL WAA WILL PERSIST INTO THIS
AFTERNOON. MID/UPPER TROP WAVE EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR LOOP OVER THE
FOUR CORNERS REGION EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS FEATURE WILL MOVE EAST
TODAY AND ENHANCE CYCLOGENESIS TO OUR SOUTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON. AS A
RESULT, LOW-LEVEL MOIST UPSLOPE WILL DEVELOP BY EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON. UPSHOT IS THAT WITH MID-LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE OVER THE
CWA AND AN APPROACHING SHORTWAVE TROF, THE CHANCES FOR CONVECTION
APPEAR VERY REASONABLE. THUS, WILL PLAN TO LEAVE WHAT WAS INHERITED
FROM PREVIOUS SHIFT FOR POPS TODAY AND TONIGHT. HIGHS TODAY WILL BE
SLIGHTLY COOLER THANKS TO AN INCREASE IN CLOUD OVER THE CWA. LOWS
TONIGHT WILL BE MAINLY IN THE 50S.

FOR SUNDAY...WITH LESS CLOUDS EXPECTED, HIGHS WILL BE SIMILAR TO
WHAT THE CWA EXPERIENCED TODAY. WITH NO REAL DISCERNIBLE LOW-LEVEL
FOCUSING MECHANISM EVIDENT, DECIDED TO NIL POPS CWA-WIDE. AS FOR
SUNDAY NIGHT...MAGNITUDE OF MOIST UPSLOPE SOMEWHAT IN DOUBT.
HOWEVER, GIVEN NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME AND STEEP MID-LEVEL LAPSE
RATES, THE CHANCE FOR NOCTURNAL CONVECTION STILL EXISTS, THEREFORE,
WILL SHOTGUN CHANCE POPS FOR ENTIRE CWA.

DAYS 3-7...

NO CHANGES.

THANKS FOR THE COORD ICT.

PRELIMINARY GUIDANCE FOR COORDINATION ONLY. OFFICIAL FORECASTS ARE
CONTAINED WITHIN THE DODGE CITY ZONE FORECAST.

DDC   79  58  83  59 /  70  60   0  30
GCK   80  57  84  58 /  70  60   0  30
EHA   84  58  86  58 /  40  60   0  30
LBL   83  58  85  60 /  60  60   0  30
HYS   76  57  81  58 /  70   0   0  30
P28   77  60  80  61 /  70  60   0  30

.DDC...NONE.

16

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 15, 8:50 AM CST, 4 hours 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
950 AM CDT SAT JUN 15 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0835 PM    12W LAKIN                 KS   1.75 IN HAIL
06/14/02   KEARNY                         SPOTTER REPORT

0901 AM    VICTORIA, SW EDGE         KS   0.75 IN HAIL
06/15/02   ELLIS                          HAIL COVERED GROUND AND
                                          STRONG WINDS ALSO REPORTED.
                                          SPOTTER REPORT

BURKE

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

26 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Scott

When
June 15, 12:58 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 15 mi NW of Scott City
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.633, -101.100

Hail, Scott

When
June 15, 1:02 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 4 mi W of Scott City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.483, -100.967

Hail, Scott

When
June 15, 1:21 PM CST
Where
Scott County, Scott City
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.483, -100.900

Hail, Scott

When
June 15, 1:25 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 12 mi SW of Scott City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.367, -101.050

Hail, Scott

When
June 15, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 6 mi SW of Shallow Water
Measured
1.5 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.317, -101.000

Hail, Lane

When
June 15, 1:40 PM CST
Where
Lane County, Dighton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.483, -100.467

Thunderstorm Wind, Ness

When
June 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Ness County, Ransom
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.633, -99.933

A combine header was blown off a parked trailer.

Hail, Finney

When
June 15, 1:58 PM CST
Where
Finney County, 17 mi NNW of Garden City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.200, -100.983

Thunderstorm Wind, Lane

When
June 15, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Lane County, 12 mi S of Alamota
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.283, -100.317

The wind caused some roof damage and took down numerous two inch diameter tree limbs.

Hail, Kearny

When
June 15, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Kearny County, 8 mi NE of Lakin
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.033, -101.150

Hail, Finney

When
June 15, 2:26 PM CST
Where
Finney County, Holcomb
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.983, -100.983

Thunderstorm Wind, Trego

When
June 15, 2:29 PM CST
Where
Trego County, Trego Center
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.883, -99.900

Hail, Kearny

When
June 15, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Kearny County, 4 mi N of Deerfield
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
38.033, -101.133

Hail, Hodgeman

When
June 15, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Hodgeman County, 16 mi W of Jetmore
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.083, -100.200

Hail, Finney

When
June 15, 2:35 PM CST
Where
Finney County, 11 mi W of Plymell
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.800, -101.067

Hail, Finney

When
June 15, 2:35 PM CST
Where
Finney County, Holcomb
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.983, -100.983

Hail, Hodgeman

When
June 15, 2:35 PM CST
Where
Hodgeman County, 12 mi W of Jetmore
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.083, -100.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Ellis

When
June 15, 2:40 PM CST
Where
Ellis County, 1 mi S of Victoria
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.833, -99.150

Many "large" tree limbs were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ford

When
June 15, 2:40 PM CST
Where
Ford County, 3 mi E of Dodge City
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.750, -99.967

A 450 pound roof was blown off an observatory.

Hail, Ford

When
June 15, 2:45 PM CST
Where
Ford County, 3 mi N of Dodge City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
37.800, -100.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Ness

When
June 15, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Ness County, Ness City
Measured
78 kt (90 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.450, -99.900

Tornado, Finney

When
June 15, 3:08 PM CST to 3:10 PM CST
Where
Finney County, 10 mi S of Holcomb
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
30 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.833, -100.983

This landspout tornado did no damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rush

When
June 15, 3:09 PM CST
Where
Rush County, Loretta
Measured
78 kt (90 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.650, -99.183

Five to six inch diameter tree limbs blown down.

Tornado, Haskell

When
June 15, 3:27 PM CST to 3:34 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 15 mi N of Satanta
Rating
F0
Path length
1.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.650, -100.983

This small tornado moved south/southeast but did no damage due to it's location over cropland.

Hail, Gray

When
June 15, 3:45 PM CST
Where
Gray County, Copeland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.533, -100.633

Hail, Haskell

When
June 15, 3:50 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, Sublette
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.483, -100.850

Hail, Haskell

When
June 15, 3:53 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, Tice
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.517, -100.717

Thunderstorm Wind, Morton

When
June 15, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Morton County, 13 mi NW of Richfield
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.400, -101.950

Three inch diameter tree limbs blown down.

Hail, Haskell

When
June 15, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, Sublette
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.483, -100.850

Hail, Seward

When
June 15, 4:07 PM CST
Where
Seward County, 24 mi N of Liberal
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.383, -100.933

Thunderstorm Wind, Edwards

When
June 15, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Edwards County, Kinsley
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
37.917, -99.417

Power lines were blown down. A few trees were blown down across the road.

Hail, Haskell

When
June 15, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 7 mi SE of Sublette
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.417, -100.767

Hail, Meade

When
June 15, 4:40 PM CST
Where
Meade County, 8 mi S of Meade
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.167, -100.333

Hail, Seward

When
June 15, 4:48 PM CST
Where
Seward County, 24 mi NNW of Liberal
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.350, -101.100

Hail, Stevens

When
June 15, 4:51 PM CST
Where
Stevens County, 5 mi NE of Moscow
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.383, -101.133

Hail fell in Cave.

Thunderstorm Wind, Seward

When
June 15, 4:55 PM CST
Where
Seward County, Liberal
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.033, -100.933

A roof was blown off a house and trees were damaged.

Thunderstorm Wind, Seward

When
June 15, 4:58 PM CST
Where
Seward County, 3 mi NW of Liberal
Property damage
$9,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.067, -100.967

A carport was demolished by the high wind.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morton

When
June 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Morton County, Elkhart
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.000, -101.900

Numerous two inch tree limbs were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Edwards

When
June 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Edwards County, 8 mi NW of Kinsley
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.000, -99.517

Four inch tree limbs were blown down.

Hail, Grant

When
June 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Grant County, 14 mi SW of Ulysses
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.433, -101.550

Hail, Hamilton

When
June 15, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Hamilton County, 4 mi W of Syracuse
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.983, -101.817

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.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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 historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2002Warnings 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: 5305926, 5304919, 5304920, 5304921, 5304922, 5304923, 5304924, 5304925, 5304926, 5304927, 5305008, 5305009, 5305010, 5305011, 5305012, 5305013, 5305014, 5305015, 5305016, 5305017, 5305018, 5305109, 5305019, 5305108, 5305020, 5305021, 5305022, 5305023, 5305024, 5305025, 5305026, 5305027, 5305028, 5305029, 5305030, 5305031, 5305032, 5305033, 5305034, 5305035, and more.