Kansas, 2002

Funnel Clouds in Kansas, May 16, 2002

May 16, 2002 · NWS TOP · 2 events in 1 county or zone

2 funnel cloud, 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 May 16, 3:00 AM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:00 AM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
400 AM CDT THU MAY 16 2002

BEST WAA/PRES FALL ZONE HAS REMAINED SOUTH OF AREA THROUGH MOST OF
THE NIGHT...SO BEST/STGST TSTMS HAVE REMAINED THERE TOO. OUTFLOW
FROM CURRENT ACTIVITY SHOULD PUSH TO SRN KS BUT SOME RECOVERY LIKELY
YET THIS MORNING...FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS/TSTMS THIS AFTN. AS
GOOD BAROCLINIC ZONE DVLPS OVR STATE TNGT...MORE SHWRS/TSTMS WILL
DEVELOP AND LIKELY BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THAN CURRENT ACTIVITY.
HOWEVER...FEEL BEST INFLOW AND HEAVIEST RAINS WILL AGAIN REMAIN JUST
SOUTH OF CWA. NEXT FEATURE IS MUCH COOLER WEATHER ARRIVING ON NRLY
WINDS LATER TNGT AND FRIDAY. OMEGA BLOCK SETTLING IN OVER THE
WEEKEND FOR TRANQUIL WEATHER. ANOTHER BAROCLINIC ZONE DVLPS ALG WARM
FRONTAL BNDRY TO OUR WEST LATER IN THE WEEKEND. THIS MAY GIVE MORE
CLOUDS AND SLOW THE WARM UP PERHAPS A DAY OR SO NEXT WEEK. MADE
MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO CLOUDS AND AFTN HIGHS WITH THIS IN MIND EARLY
NEXT WEEK. OTRW LTL CHC TO OUTPDS.

.TOP...NONE

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Dickinson

When
May 16, 12:30 PM CST
Where
Dickinson County, 1 mi W of Herington
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.867, -97.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was sighted 1 mile west of Herington.

Funnel Cloud, Dickinson

When
May 16, 12:30 PM CST
Where
Dickinson County, 2 mi W of Herington
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.867, -97.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was sighted 2 miles west of Herington.

What these are

Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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, 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: 5291341, 5291342.