Hail in Kansas, July 11, 2003

Name: Hail in Kansas, July 11, 2003
Start: 2003-07-11T19:04
End: 2003-07-11T19:45
Location: Kansas

July 11, 2003 · NWS TOP · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed over parts of east central Kansas the evening of the 11th. Many became severe and produced numerous reports of large hail.

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: $15,000
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 happened

The episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.

Thunderstorms developed over parts of east central Kansas the evening of the 11th. Many became severe and produced numerous reports of large hail. Baseball size hail damaged a number of car windshields, roofs and buildings in and around Ottawa. Some hail damage was also reported in the Waverly area.

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 Jul 11, 2:00 PM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 2:00 PM CST, 5 hours 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KANSAS
3 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

...MAIN CONCERN IS STILL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TONIGHT...THEN
TEMPERATURES AND PRECIP CHANCES NEXT WEEK...

SFC ANALYSIS AND RADAR SHOWING FRONT PUSHING SOUTHEASTWARD
STRETCHING FROM STJ TO NEAR SLN. CU FIELD DEVELOPING ALONG FRONT
SHOULD INCREASE AS CAP ERODES WITH SCT CONVECTION POSSIBLE THROUGH
THE EVENING AS FRONT PUSHED SOUTHWARD. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE
SEVERE OVER THE EAST CENTRAL THIS EVENING.

MORE CONVECTION WHICH DEVELOPS FURTHER WEST IN THE HIGH PLAINS MAY
ALSO CATCH THE SOUTHERN CWA OVERNIGHT AS POSSIBLE MCS INCREASES OVER
SOUTHERN KS. WILL KEEP LOW POPS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA UNTIL
SUNRISE SATURDAY. DRIER AIR OVERSPREAD THE CWA THROUGH SATURDAY AS
HIGH PRESSURE AND SUBSIDENCE BUILD SOUTHWARD. WILL CONTINUE DRY FCST
THROUGH THE WEEKEND...ALTHOUGH RETURN MOISTURE FLOW AND WAA SUNDAY
NIGHT COULD DEVELOP CONVECTION NOT TOO FAR TO THE WEST OF THE CWA.

WILL KEEP HIGHS ON SATURDAY GENERALLY IN THE MID 80S WITH NORTHEAST
WINDS...THEN RAISE INTO THE LOW TO MID 90S SUNDAY AS SFC WINDS COME
BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH/SOUTHEAST.

WILL ADD A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY AS MODELS CONTINUE TO
SHOW ANOTHER SHORTWAVE AND FRONT DROP SOUTHEAST INTO THE CWA AROUND
THE NORTHEAST EDGE OF WESTERN RIDGE ALOFT. AS A RESULT LOWERED HIGHS
THROUGH MID WEEK SLIGHTLY. CONTINUED WITH DRY FGST THEN THROUGH
FRIDAY...ALTHOUGH INITIAL NORTHWEST WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED UNTIL
WARMER AIR ALOFT CAN BECOME REESTABLISHED OVER THE AREA.

.TOP...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 11, 3:42 PM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes before

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-121000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
442 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING GENERALLY
ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE
THE MAIN THREATS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN ON TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS WILL BE NEEDED THROUGH THIS EVENING.

&&

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 11, 5:37 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

KSZ026-035>040-054>056-058-059-120300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
637 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE NO LONGER IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
#724...

  GEARY                 DICKINSON

SOME CITIES NO LONGER IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #724...

  ABILENE               JUNCTION CITY

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #724 REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES...

  JEFFERSON             SHAWNEE               WABAUNSEE
  DOUGLAS               MORRIS                OSAGE
  LYON                  FRANKLIN              COFFEY
  ANDERSON

SOME CITIES STILL IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #724...

  EMPORIA               OTTAWA                LAWRENCE
  TOPEKA

Local storm report, Jul 11, 6:20 PM CST, 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
720 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

0710 PM    9 WSW LONE STAR           KS    .75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   DOUGLAS

Local storm report, Jul 11, 6:45 PM CST, 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
745 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

0710 PM    9 WSW OTTAWA              KS    2.75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN

Local storm report, Jul 11, 6:48 PM CST, 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
748 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

0745 PM    9 WSW OTTAWA              KS    2.75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN

Local storm report, Jul 11, 6:49 PM CST, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
749 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

0748 PM    OTTAWA                    KS    2.75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN                        MULTIPLE REPORTS OF
                                           BASEBALL SIZE HAIL.

Local storm report, Jul 11, 6:53 PM CST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
753 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2003

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

0738 PM    OTTAWA                    KS    .88 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN

0740 PM    OTTAWA                    KS    1 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN

0745 PM    OTTAWA                    KS    1.75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN                        LEAVES STRIPPED OFF TREES

0748 PM    OTTAWA                    KS    2.75 INCH HAIL
07/11/03   FRANKLIN                        WINSHIELDS SHATTERED ON
                                           CARS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Franklin

When: July 11, 7:04 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, 1 mi S of Rantoul
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.200, -95.617

Hail, Osage

When: July 11, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Osage County, 1 mi NW of Olivet
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.533, -95.100

Hail, Coffey

When: July 11, 7:28 PM CST
Where: Coffey County, 6 mi E of Lebo
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.500, -95.767

Hail, Coffey

When: July 11, 7:31 PM CST
Where: Coffey County, Waverly
Measured: 2 in hail
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.417, -95.733

Large hail damaged a few car windows as well as some roof and window damage on a few homes in the Waverly area.

Hail, Coffey

When: July 11, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Coffey County, 7 mi E of Burlington
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.400, -95.600

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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, July 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: 5376788, 5373188, 5373189, 5373190, 5373191.