Hail, Russell
- When
- May 15, 10:40 PM CST
- Where
- Russell County, 1 mi W of Milberger
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.717, -98.933
Flash Flooding and Hail in Kansas, May 15 to 16, 2002
12 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 17
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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 7:19 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 15, 7:19 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 819 PM CDT WED MAY 15 2002 ...EVENING UPDATE... CNVTN THAT DVLPD IN SWRN KS AT LATE AFTN IS HOLDING ON A LTL LONGER THAN XPCTD THIS EVENING...AS IT MOVS INTO SCNTRL KS TO THE W OF ICT. EARLIER WND THREAT SEEMS TO BE DMNSHG WITH LOSS OF HTG AND SMLR TEMP DWPT SPREADS. HOWEVER ISOLD STGR CELLS WHICH PULSE UP...WL HAVE SOME WND/HAIL POTNL INTO THE LATE EVENING. WITH PROGD INCRS IN LO LVL JET TWD MDNGT...SUSPECT CNVTN WL LKLY MAINTAIN ITSELF INTO THE ICT AREA AS IT BCMS MORE ELEVATED IN NATURE. WL PROBLY JUST MODIFY WORDING IN ZONES TO GO SCT SHWRS AND TSTMS OVRNGT AND REMOVE POP QUALIFIER. OTHERWISE LTL CHG TO REST OF FCST. DARMOFAL .ICT...NONE.
The radar
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:38 UTC.
Event by event
12 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 10:54 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 1 mi S of Galatia
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.617, -98.967
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 11:02 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 3 mi N of Albert
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.500, -99.017
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 11:05 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 5 mi W of Hoisington
- Measured
- 4.5 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.517, -98.867
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 11:22 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 2 mi NE of Hoisington
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.533, -98.733
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 11:25 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 2 mi E of Hoisington
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.517, -98.733
Hail, Barton
- When
- May 15, 11:47 PM CST
- Where
- Barton County, 1 mi N of Ellinwood
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.367, -98.583
Hail, Rice
- When
- May 16, 12:02 AM CST
- Where
- Rice County, Silica
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.350, -98.450
Hail, Rice
- When
- May 16, 12:09 AM CST
- Where
- Rice County, Alden
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 38.250, -98.317
Car and roof of house damaged.
Hail, Rice
- When
- May 16, 12:13 AM CST
- Where
- Rice County, 3 mi W of Lyons
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.350, -98.250
Hail, Rice
- When
- May 16, 12:15 AM CST
- Where
- Rice County, 6 mi SW of Lyons
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.283, -98.283
Thunderstorm Wind, McPherson
- When
- May 16, 12:40 AM CST
- Where
- McPherson County, Inman
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.233, -97.767
Limbs downed.
Hail, Marion
- When
- May 16, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Marion County, 4 mi NW of Peabody
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 38.200, -97.150
Relayed by KSNW Channel 3.
Flash Flood, Rice
- When
- May 16, 1:15 AM CST to 8:35 AM CST
- Where
- Rice County, Southeast Portion
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.347, -98.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The following roads were barricaded: Avenue 22 near Saxman, Avenue M between 29th and 30th Roads east of Lyons near the McPherson County Line, Avenue 20 between Avenues R and S near Saxman, and the intersection of Avenue M and 28th Avenue east of Lyons near the McPherson County line. In addition, numerous other county roads were flooded, including a few with water flowing across them.
Thunderstorm Wind, Marion
- When
- May 16, 1:20 AM CST
- Where
- Marion County, Peabody
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.167, -97.100
Downed power lines caused power outages.
Thunderstorm Wind, Greenwood
- When
- May 16, 2:25 AM CST
- Where
- Greenwood County, 8 mi W of Madison
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.133, -96.283
Flash Flood, McPherson
- When
- May 16, 3:25 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
- Where
- McPherson County, South Portion
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.392, -97.648 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Many roads across the southern half of McPherson County were barricaded.
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.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood in Alaska, May 15 to 16, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 15, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Erie, May 15, 2002
- Flash Flood in Texas, May 15, 2002
- Hail in Kansas, May 15, 2002
- Hail in Nebraska, May 15, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Utah, May 15, 2002
- Wildfire in Arizona, May 15, 2002
- High Wind in Oklahoma, May 15, 2002
- Wildfire in Arizona, May 15 to 18, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 15, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Colorado, May 15, 2002
More
Every storm in Kansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 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: 5287771, 5287682, 5287683, 5287684, 5287685, 5287686, 5287687, 5287688, 5287775, 5287689, 5287690, 5287772, 5287773, 5287691, 5287770, 5287774, 5287769.