Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 5, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 5, 2002
Start: 2002-05-05T20:45
End: 2002-05-05T21:23
Location: Kansas

May 5, 2002 · NWS TOP · 5 events in 3 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, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 3:15 PM CST, 5 hours 30 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, 7:16 PM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
816 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0805 PM    WELLS                     KS    1 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   OTTAWA

Local storm report, May 5, 7:39 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
839 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0838 PM    2 W WAMEGO                KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/05/02   POTTAWATOMIE                    SPOTTER REPORTED 60 MPH
                                           WINDS WITH TREENS BENDING

Local storm report, May 5, 7:53 PM CST, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
853 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0839 PM    6 NNW WAMEGO              KS    1 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 5, 7:59 PM CST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
859 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0830 PM    FLUSH                     KS    63 MPH TSTM GUST
05/05/02   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 5, 8:23 PM CST, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
923 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0905 PM    LACLEDE                   KS    1 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 5, 8:27 PM CST, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
927 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

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

0915 PM    6 NNE DELIA               KS    .75 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   JACKSON                         PUBLIC REPORTED DIME
                                           SIZE HAIL

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Geary

When: May 5, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Geary County, 14 mi E of Junction City
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.033, -96.567

Hail, Riley

When: May 5, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Riley County, 9 mi SE of Manhattan
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.083, -96.467

Hail, Wabaunsee

When: May 5, 8:48 PM CST
Where: Wabaunsee County, 6 mi N of Volland
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.033, -96.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Wabaunsee

When: May 5, 9:06 PM CST
Where: Wabaunsee County, 9 mi N of Alta Vista
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.000, -96.483

Hail, Wabaunsee

When: May 5, 9:23 PM CST
Where: Wabaunsee County, 4 mi SW of Maple Hill
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 39.050, -96.083

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: 5290879, 5290880, 5290881, 5290882, 5290883.