Flash Flood, Cherokee
- When
- May 7, 6:00 PM CST to May 8, 12:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cherokee County, Countywide
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 37.169, -94.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 7 to 8, 2002
This extraordinary event consisted of three primary waves of severe weather and flooding. The first occurred during the early morning of May 7th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 SGF wrote it up.
This extraordinary event consisted of three primary waves of severe weather and flooding. The first occurred during the early morning of May 7th. The second consisted of four separate severe and flooding events which overlapped and lasted from mid-morning on May 7th, to near sunrise on May 8th. The last wave of severe weather and flooding swept through the area the evening of May 8th, and into the early morning hours of May 9th. Rainfall amounts of four to eight inches fell across the area from the early morning of May 7th, to the morning of May 9th. Bands greater than 10 inch amounts were shown over Bourbon and Crawford counties. The widespread heavy rain amounts and periods of torrential rainfall rates resulted in extensive flooding of small streams and creeks, county roads, low water crossings and other low lying areas. Some major highways were also affected. In addition to the flash flooding reports, river flooding became significant as many went above flood stage by the middle of May. All monetary damages will be included in the flood narrative listed on May 9th.
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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 7, 2:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 7, 2:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED TO INCLUDE WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 345 PM CDT TUE MAY 7 2002 FORECAST CONCERNS: FLOODING POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT. CONFIGURATION OF CWA WITH HIGHEST TSRA POTENTIAL. OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM LATEST MCS OVERNIGHT HAD MOVED INTO EXTREME SOUTHWEST MISSOURI...WITH TEMPS APPROACHING 80 IN THIS AREA. ELSEWHERE RAIN COOLED AIR HAS STABILIZED THE ATMOSPHERE WITH ONLY SOME DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTS SINCE NOON. RADAR INDICATED STORM TOTAL PRECIPITATION ABOVE 1.5 INCHES IN A BROAD AREA NORTH OF INTERSTATE 44. I WILL LIKELY ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS NORTH AND EAST OF A MOUNT VERNON TO NEVADA LINE THROUGH NOON WEDNESDAY WITH THE MAIN EMPHASIS ON MODERATE FLOODING IN THESE AREAS....ESPECIALLY NEAR THE LAKE OF THE OZARKS WHERE FLOODING IS ONGOING. CONVECTION OVER CWA WILL LIKELY SHIFT NORTH AND EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH THE NEXT FOCUS OUT WEST WHERE ANOTHER COMPLEX IS DEVELOPING IN OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS. WATER VAPOR SHOWING ANOTHER IN THE SERIES OF SHORT WAVES MOVING ACROSS NEW MEXICO INTO WESTERN TEXAS. THIS WILL BE THE MAIN PLAYER OVERNIGHT WITH THE INITIATION OF CONVECTION SOMEWHERE NEAR THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY TO THE SOUTH OF SGF...AND ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA WHERE MORE SUNSHINE HAS DESTABILIZED THE ATMOSPHERE. WILL LIKELY GO WITH PERSISTENCE FOR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. EARLIER ZONES HAD CHANCE OF TSRA ON SUNDAY NIGHT ONLY. DUE TO SURROUNDING OFFICES AND HPC DISCUSSION...WILL LIKELY UP THE TIME TO SATURDAY AFTN AND DROP CHANCE MONDAY AFTERNOON. NO OTHER CHANGES EXPECTED WITH MINOR TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS THROUGH THE PERIOD. .SGF... MO...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL NOON CDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES MOZ055>058... MOZ066>071...MOZ077>083...MOZ089>092...MOZ096>098...MOZ106. KS...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL NOON CDT WEDNESDAY FOR ZONE KSZ073. JLT
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 7, 3:27 PM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
427 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0417 PM NEVADA MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/02 VERNON REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT.
0419 PM NEVADA MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/02 VERNON REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.Local storm report, May 7, 4:43 PM CST, 1 hour 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
543 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0505 PM EL DORADO SPGS MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/02 CEDAR REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, May 7, 5:00 PM CST, 1 hour before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
600 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0600 PM SCAMMON KS .75 INCH HAIL
05/07/02 CHEROKEE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, May 7, 5:35 PM CST, 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
635 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0630 PM JOPLIN MO 60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/07/02 JASPER REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.Local storm report, May 7, 5:47 PM CST, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
647 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0645 PM CARTHAGE MO 70 MPH TSTM GUST
05/07/02 JASPER REPORTED BY PUBLIC.
0645 PM CARTHAGE MO .88 INCH HAIL
05/07/02 JASPERLocal storm report, May 7, 5:53 PM CST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
653 PM CDT TUE MAY 07 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0640 PM NEVADA MO FLOOD
05/07/02 VERNON REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0640 PM OSCEOLA MO FLOOD
05/07/02 ST.CLAIR REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0645 PM EL DORADO SPGS MO FLOOD
05/07/02 CEDAR REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0645 PM HERMITAGE MO FLOOD
05/07/02 HICKORY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.The radar
The Tulsa radar (KINX), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:04 UTC.
Event by event
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Crawford
- When
- May 7, 9:00 PM CST to May 8, 12:00 AM CST
- Where
- Crawford County, Countywide
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.507, -94.852 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Bourbon
- When
- May 7, 9:00 PM CST to May 8, 12:00 AM CST
- Where
- Bourbon County, Countywide
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 37.855, -94.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- 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
- Flash Flood in Alaska, May 7 to 11, 2002
- Flooding in Missouri, May 7 to 9, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 7, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 7 to 9, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 7, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 7, 2002
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 7 to 8, 2002
- High Wind in Idaho, May 7, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alaska, May 7, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 7, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Ohio, May 7, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 7, 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: 5294257, 5294255, 5294256.