Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 22, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 22, 2002
Start: 2002-05-22T17:10
End: 2002-05-22T20:45
Location: Kansas

May 22, 2002 · NWS GID · 9 events in 5 counties and zones

Scattered thunderstorms produced hail and localized high winds across parts of north-central Kansas, including downburst winds which damaged some outbuildings near Gaylord and Claudell in southern Smith county.

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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

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 May 22, 1:00 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 1:00 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT WED MAY 22 2002

...WINDS AND TSTM CHCS THIS AFTN/EVE ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS...

STRONG SURFACE GRADIENT WINDS STILL RUNNING 20 TO 30 AND GUSTING
NEAR 35 KNOTS IN EASTERN CWA. HOWEVER PROGRESS OF FRONT HEADING IN
FROM WEST IS SLOWLY WIDENING THE GRADIENT...NEAR KEARNEY AS WE
SPEAK...TURNING WINDS WEST AND DROPPING TO 10 TO 15 MPH...SO LETTING
WIND ADVISORY GO.

AS FRONT/DRYLINE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO APPROACH FROM THE WEST
...EXPECTING CONVECTION TO FIRE UP THIS AFTERNOON NEAR DRYLINE
BOUNDARY. CURRENTLY SFC MOISTURE HAS DEW POINTS IN THE MID 50S
AHEAD...WITH MID 20S BEHIND. MINOR MID LVL ENERGY MOVING THROUGH
LATE AFTERNOON WILL HELP...WITH MAIN SHORTWAVE AXIS STILL HANGING
BACK INTO SERN CO...SO EXPECT WHOLE EVENT TO LAST OVERNIGHT INTO THE
EARLY MORNING HOURS. SPC CURRENTLY HAS MOST OF ERN CWA IN A SLIGHT
RISK FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT. EARLY INDICATIONS AND MOISTURE TONGUE
RIGHT NOW SHOW BEST ACTIVITY OVER ERN HALF OF KA COUNTIES AND
EXTREME ERN AND SERN COUNTIES IN NE TARGETED FOR THUNDER...WHICH
WILL ALSO LIKELY BE THE SAME AREA TARGETED FOR SEVERE. LARGE HAIL
AND WINDS LIKELY WITH SCATTERED COVERAGE WITH LCL REMAINING LARGELY
ABOVE 5000 FT. LINE STORMS NORTHEAST OF THE AREA...WITH BEST CHANCES
FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADIC STORMS BETWEEN SLN AND LNK...JUST
SCRAPING OUR SERN CWA. BEST CAPES RUNNING DOWN HEAR TOO...WITH NEAR
1000 THIS AFTERNOON...TO 1500 BY MID EVENING. GOOD OPENINGS IN SCT
TO BKN ST CU DECK ALLOWING DECENT HEATING...AND GOOD LL CONVERGENCE
STRETCHING BETWN EAR AND HLC TO RSL...WITH SOME ENHANCED CONVECTION
GOING ON RIGHT NOW. AGAIN...COVERAGE ONLY LOOKS SCATTERED AT BEST SO
GOING WITH A 40 POP FOR NOW OVER ERN CWA.

BEYOND...DRY THU THEN COOL AND A GOOD CHANCE OF PRECIP AS TILTED
TROUGH FINALLY PULLS OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST AND ROCKIES.
THUS...KEEPING CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH SATURDAY.

STAYED CLOSE TO PREV TEMPS WITH COOL DOWN AND THEN WARM UP...NO REAL
CHANGES TO EXTENDED. CHC OF THUNDER FOR MON TUE THEN DRY WED.

10

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 22, 4:22 PM CST, 48 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-230500-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
522 PM CDT WED MAY 22 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING OVER ALL OF NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS...AND IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AREAS ALONG AND EAST
OF A LINE FROM FRANKLIN OF FRANKLIN COUNTY TO NEAR GENOA OF NANCE
COUNTY. THE THREAT WITH THESE STORMS IS DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND
AND LARGE HAIL.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTHWEST KANSAS IS EXPECTED TO
MOVE EASTWARD AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES.  SEVERE STORMS WILL AGAIN BE
POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT...MAINLY OVER NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...AND OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA COUNTIES TO THE SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 6 AND
EAST OF ROUTE 281.  A TORNADO IS POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS ALONG WITH
THE THREAT OF DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND AND HAIL.

09

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Smith

When: May 22, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Smith County, Kensington
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.767, -99.033

Thunderstorm Wind, Smith

When: May 22, 5:59 PM CST
Where: Smith County, Gaylord
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 39.650, -98.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Smith

When: May 22, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Smith County, 2 mi N of Claudell
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.700, -99.033

Hail, Rooks

When: May 22, 6:13 PM CST
Where: Rooks County, Zurich
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.233, -99.433

Hail, Rooks

When: May 22, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Rooks County, 9 mi SE of Stockton
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.333, -99.167

Hail, Jewell

When: May 22, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Jewell County, 2 mi E of Webber
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.933, -98.000

Hail, Osborne

When: May 22, 7:54 PM CST
Where: Osborne County, 7 mi S of Alton
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.367, -98.950

Hail, Mitchell

When: May 22, 8:27 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Cawker City
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.517, -98.433

Hail, Mitchell

When: May 22, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, 1 mi S of Glen Elder
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.483, -98.300

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

Every storm in Kansas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5302369, 5302370, 5302371, 5302372, 5302373, 5302374, 5302375, 5302376, 5302442.