Kansas, 2002

Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 5, 2002

May 5, 2002 · NWS TOP · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

4 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 5, 3:15 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 3:15 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
415 PM CDT SUN MAY 5 2002

...THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THE MAIN CONCERN THIS FORECAST...

MOISTURE FEEDS OVER THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING UNTIL A FRONT
BEGINS MOVING THROUGH THE AREA.  UNTIL THEN...THE COMBINATION OF
WARM AIR AND INCREASED MOISTURE WILL PRESENT PROLONGED THREAT FOR
THUNDERSTORMS BENEATH A SOUTHWEST H500 FLOW.

THE MAIN CONCERN WILL BE HOW MUCH OF A CAPPED ATMOSPHERE IS PRESENT
EACH PERIOD.  THE PRESENCE OF WARM AIR...PLENTY OF MOISTURE...AND AN
UPPER LEVEL TRIGGER WILL SUPPLY THE INGREDIENTS THAT WILL ALLOW ANY
STORM THAT DEVELOPS TO POTENTIALLY BECOME SEVERE.

BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT THE FRONT SHOULD STABILIZE THE AREA AND REDUCE
THE MOISTURE ENDING THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT.  BY FRIDAY...THE SOUTH
FLOW BEGINS TO RETURN...WITH A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE WARM
ADVECTION.  ANOTHER COLD FRONT ON SUNDAY WILL ALSO BRING A CHANCE
WITH LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE.

ROGERS

.TOP...NONE

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 5, 5:46 PM CST, 44 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
646 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0632 PM    3 WNW COUNCIL GROVE       KS    .75 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   MORRIS
Local storm report, May 5, 6:26 PM CST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
726 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0711 PM    5 WNW TESCOTT             KS    1 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   OTTAWA

0720 PM    TESCOTT                   KS    1 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   OTTAWA

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Ottawa

When
May 5, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Ottawa County, 3 mi SSE of Tescott
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.983, -97.867

Thunderstorm Wind, Ottawa

When
May 5, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Ottawa County, 3 mi SSE of Tescott
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.983, -97.867

Hail, Clay

When
May 5, 6:35 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Wakefield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.217, -97.017

Hail, Shawnee

When
May 5, 6:35 PM CST
Where
Shawnee County, 2 mi SW of Auburn
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.883, -95.850

Hail, Riley

When
May 5, 6:42 PM CST
Where
Riley County, 7 mi W of Riley
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.300, -96.967

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

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: 5290799, 5290800, 5290801, 5290802, 5290803.