Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 20, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 20, 2003
Start: 2003-08-20T17:43
End: 2003-08-20T18:11
Location: Kansas

August 20, 2003 · NWS TOP · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed over north central and northeast Kansas around mid afternoon of the 20th and continued into the early evening hours. Many became severe and produced numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds.

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: 7

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 TOP 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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 20, 2:38 PM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 2:38 PM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KANSAS
338 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

SHORT TERM CONCERNS ARE ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING
WITH ACTIVITY DEVELOPING IN AFTERNOON HEAT AND UNDER UPPER SHORT
WAVE. THEN CHANCES FOR THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY EVENING AS FRONT DROPS
ACROSS AREA.

SATELLITE SHOWING DEVELOPING CU AND RADAR ECHOES INCREASING PAST FEW
SCANS.  WILL GO WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FOR EASTERN TWO-THIRDS
OF CWA AND MENTION ISOLATED SEVERE POSSIBLE WITH MAIN THREAT AS PAST
FEW DAYS BEING DAMAGING WINDS.  WITH LOSE OF AFTERNOON HEATING...AND
SHORTWAVE PUSHING NORTHEAST...EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DIMINISH
DURING THE EVENING BUT GIVEN SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE
CHANCE FOR AFTER MIDNIGHT ESPECIALLY OVER EAST CENTRAL COUNTIES.
LOWS TONIGHT SIMILAR TO PAST NIGHTS...LOW 70S TO NEAR 75.

FOR THURSDAY...FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND DIFFLUENT NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
SHOULD GIVE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON
INTO THE NIGHT TIME HOURS.  HIGHS FROM UPPER 90S FAR NORTH CENTRAL
TO AROUND 102 DEGREES EAST CENTRAL.

ON FRIDAY...SURFACE FLOW NORTH TO NORTHEAST...STILL WARM H850 MB
TEMPS...WILL LOWER HIGHS INTO THE LOWER 90S FAR NORTHEAST TO MID
90S.

FOR THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PERIOD...MODELS BUILDING RIDGE OVER CWA
AND TREND...ECMWF H850 MB TEMPS WARMER WITH READINGS AROUND 22 TO 24
DEGREES WHILE MRF ABOUT 4 OR 5 DEGREES COOLER.  GIVEN THE PAST
TRENDS...FAVORING LEAVING HIGHS IN THE MID 90S SATURDAY AND MID TO
UPPER 90S FOR SUNDAY.  MODELS BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN RIDGE BY MONDAY
MORNING WITH A SHORTWAVE AND ACCOMPANY SURFACE FRONT MOVING ACROSS
THE NORTHERN PLAINS.  FEELING IS BOUNDARY WILL STAY NORTH AT THIS
TIME.  STILL WARM ON MONDAY AHEAD OF IT...THEN WITH PERHAPS A FEW
MORE CLOUDS AROUND...TEMPS TRENDED BACK ABOUT 3 OR 4 DEGREES TO THE
LOWER TO MIDDLE 90S FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.  LATEST MRF WOULD
HINT OF SOME PRECIP CHANCES FOR WED...DAY 7...BUT ECMWF LEADING INTO
THIS PERIOD NOT AS CONVINCING WITH SHORT WAVE ENERGY THUS LEFT DRY.

.TOP...NONE

FRANTZ

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 3:53 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-211000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION TO TONIGHT WORDING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
453 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE EVENING HOURS
GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A MINNEAPOLIS...CLAY CENTER TO
MARYSVILLE LINE.  DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WILL BE THE
MAIN THREAT ALONG WITH POSSIBLY SOME LARGE HAIL FROM THE STRONGER
STORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.  FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING WILL ALSO
POSE A HAZARD. THUNDERSTORM INTENSITY AND COVERAGE SHOULD DIMINISH
BY THE MID EVENING HOURS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MAINLY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. DAMAGING WINDS AND LIGHTNING WILL AGAIN
POSE A HAZARD.

HOT TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY WITH HEAT INDEX READING
RANGING FROM AROUND 101 DEGREES OVER PARTS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL TO
AROUND 108 DEGREES OVER PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS WILL BE NEEDED MAINLY DURING THE EVENING HOURS TONIGHT.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE:
   HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/TOP  (ALL LOWER CASE)

PF

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 20, 4:44 PM CST, 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
544 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0540 PM    TOPEKA                    KS    .75 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE                         REPORTED BY OFF DUTY
                                           NWS EMPLOYEE AT 42ND
                                           AND CALIFORNIA IN TOPEKA.

Local storm report, Aug 20, 4:51 PM CST, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
551 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0546 PM    5 SE TOPEKA               KS    1 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE                         30TH AND CROCO ROAD.
                                           REPORTED BY OFF DUTY
                                           NWS EMPLOYEE.

0548 PM    6 SE TOPEKA               KS    .88 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE                         35TH AND BURTON.
                                           REPORTED BY OFF DUTY
                                           NWS EMPLOYEE.

Local storm report, Aug 20, 5:11 PM CST, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
611 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0605 PM    7 N RICHLAND              KS    1 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE                         REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

Local storm report, Aug 20, 5:34 PM CST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
634 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0615 PM    4 SW FRANKFORT            KS    60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/20/03   MARSHALL                        SIX INCH TREE LIMBS
                                           DOWN.

0621 PM    2 N RICHLAND              KS    .75 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE

Local storm report, Aug 20, 5:37 PM CST, 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
637 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0558 PM    TOPEKA                    KS    1.25 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   SHAWNEE                         REPORTED BY NWS MIC
                                           SOUTHEAST PART OF TOPEKA.

Local storm report, Aug 20, 5:40 PM CST, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
640 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

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

0635 PM    SOLOMON                   KS    1 INCH HAIL
08/20/03   DICKINSON                       QUARTER SIZE HAIL
                                           REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Shawnee

When: August 20, 5:43 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County, Willard
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.100, -95.950

Hail, Pottawatomie

When: August 20, 5:55 PM CST
Where: Pottawatomie County, 5 mi NW of St Marys
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.250, -96.133

Hail, Shawnee

When: August 20, 5:57 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County, Willard
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.100, -95.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Dickinson

When: August 20, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Dickinson County, Solomon
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.917, -97.367

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: August 20, 6:08 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 7 mi SW of Frankfort
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.633, -96.517

Hail, Marshall

When: August 20, 6:08 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 7 mi SW of Frankfort
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.633, -96.517

Hail, Dickinson

When: August 20, 6:11 PM CST
Where: Dickinson County, 3 mi E of Solomon
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.917, -97.317

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, August 2003

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: 5369299, 5369300, 5369301, 5369302, 5369371, 5369372, 5369373.