Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, March 8, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, March 8, 2002
Start: 2002-03-08T21:31
End: 2002-03-08T21:40
Location: Kansas

March 8, 2002 · NWS TOP · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 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: $1.0 million
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 Mar 8, 4:46 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 4:46 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
330 PM CST FRI MAR 8 2002

APPEARS A SGFNT CONVECTIVE EVENT WILL EVOLVE OVER THE NEXT 9 HOURS.
VERY STG INFLOW TO WARMFNT OVER CNTRL AND NERN KS WILL PRECEDE
VIGOROUS UPPER WAVE MVG INTO THE PLAINS THIS EVENING. STG VERTICAL
MOTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAVE...ALONG WITH CONVERGENCE ALG SFC
BNDRY WILL SPELL SVR WX EVENT THIS EVENING. AGREE WITH SPC IN THAT
MAIN EVENT WILL BE HAIL AND WIND...BUT EARLY ON...ISOLATED TORNADOS
COULD NOT BE RULED OUT. BRN SHEAR VALUES VERY HIGH...DEEP LAYER
SHEAR MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR SVR STMS. GRADIENT VERY STG SO WINDS
WILL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. THUS HAVE HOISTED A WIND ADVSRY ALL OF
AREA OVERNIGHT. WENT CATEGORICAL POPS EVERY WHERE OVRNGT. ALSO
POSTED A WINTER WX ADVSRY NWRN CWA WHERE LOW LVL THERMAL PATTERN
WILL NOT WARM ENUF BEFORE PCPN BEGINS THIS EVENING. LIKELY TO SEE A
WINTRY MIX UNTIL AT LEAST MIDN. REST OF AREA TO SEE RAPID CHG TO
FROZEN PCPN BY MIDN OR SHRTLY THEREAFTER.

REST OF FCST FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH LINGERING CHC FOR PCPN ON
MONDAY...THEN ANOTHER WAVE LATE IN THE WEEK FOR ANOTHER CHC FOR RAIN.

.TOP....A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT NWRN CWA NW
        OF A LINE FOR CONCORDIA TO WASHINGTON.
        WIND ADVISORY ALL OF CWA TONIGHT

FXUS63 KTOP 082246 RRA
AFDTOP

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
330 PM CST FRI MAR 8 2002

APPEARS A SGFNT CONVECTIVE EVENT WILL EVOLVE OVER THE NEXT 9 HOURS.
VERY STG INFLOW TO WARMFNT OVER CNTRL AND NERN KS WILL PRECEDE
VIGOROUS UPPER WAVE MVG INTO THE PLAINS THIS EVENING. STG VERTICAL
MOTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAVE...ALONG WITH CONVERGENCE ALG SFC
BNDRY WILL SPELL SVR WX EVENT THIS EVENING. AGREE WITH SPC IN THAT
MAIN EVENT WILL BE HAIL AND WIND...BUT EARLY ON...ISOLATED TORNADOS
COULD NOT BE RULED OUT. BRN SHEAR VALUES VERY HIGH...DEEP LAYER
SHEAR MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR SVR STMS. GRADIENT VERY STG SO WINDS
WILL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. THUS HAVE HOISTED A WIND ADVSRY ALL OF
AREA OVERNIGHT. WENT CATEGORICAL POPS EVERY WHERE OVRNGT. ALSO
POSTED A WINTER WX ADVSRY NWRN CWA WHERE LOW LVL THERMAL PATTERN
WILL NOT WARM ENUF BEFORE PCPN BEGINS THIS EVENING. LIKELY TO SEE A
WINTRY MIX UNTIL AT LEAST MIDN. REST OF AREA TO SEE RAPID CHG TO
FROZEN PCPN BY MIDN OR SHRTLY THEREAFTER.

REST OF FCST FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH LINGERING CHC FOR PCPN ON
MONDAY...THEN ANOTHER WAVE LATE IN THE WEEK FOR ANOTHER CHC FOR RAIN.

.TOP...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT NWRN CWA
       NW OF A LINE FOR CONCORDIA TO WASHINGTON.
       WIND ADVISORY ALL OF CWA TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 8, 8:02 PM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
802 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0756 PM    MANCHESTER                KS    .75 INCH HAIL
03/08/02   DICKINSON

Local storm report, Mar 8, 8:10 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
810 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0806 PM    WAKEFIELD                 KS    .75 INCH HAIL
03/08/02   CLAY

Local storm report, Mar 8, 8:45 PM CST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
845 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0836 PM    HERINGTON                 KS    .75 INCH HAIL
03/08/02   DICKINSON

Local storm report, Mar 8, 9:08 PM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
908 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0850 PM    2 W COUNCIL GROVE         KS    .75 INCH HAIL
03/08/02   MORRIS

Local storm report, Mar 8, 9:13 PM CST, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
913 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0809 PM    MANHATTAN                 KS    NON TSTM WINDS
03/08/02   RILEY                           60 MPH NON TSTM WINDS.
                                           NORTH PART OF THE CITY,
                                           AT THE FIRE DEPT.

0834 PM    WAMEGO                    KS    NON TSTM WINDS
03/08/02   POTTAWATOMIE                    58 MPH NON TSTM WINDS.

0834 PM    PAXICO                    KS    NON TSTM WINDS
03/08/02   WABAUNSEE                       70 MPH NON TSTM WINDS.
                                           LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN

0905 PM    DELIA                     KS    WIND DAMAGE
03/08/02   JACKSON                         SIDING BLOWN OFF HOUSE

Local storm report, Mar 8, 9:17 PM CST, 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
917 PM CST FRI MAR 08 2002

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

0900 PM    WILLARD                   KS    NON TSTM WINDS
03/08/02   SHAWNEE                         60 MPH NON TSTM WINDS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawnee

When: March 8, 9:31 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County, (Foe)forbes Fld Tope
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.950, -95.667

Hail, Lyon

When: March 8, 9:32 PM CST
Where: Lyon County, Americus
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.550, -96.433

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawnee

When: March 8, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County, Topeka
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $1.0 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.050, -95.683

Strong downburst winds damaged 40 cars at a dealership in Topeka. Roof damage was also noted at the dealership salesroom.

What these are

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

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kansas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, March 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: 5280221, 5280222, 5280223.