Flash Flood, Bourbon
- When
- May 1, 1:30 AM CST to 3:30 AM CST
- Where
- Bourbon County, 8 mi W of Ft Scott
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.855, -94.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kansas, May 1, 2003
Local law enforcement officials observed a portion of Highway 54 completely inundated with flood waters.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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.
Local law enforcement officials observed a portion of Highway 54 completely inundated with flood waters.
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 Apr 30, 1:20 PM CST, 12 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 1:20 PM CST, 12 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 220 PM CDT WED APR 30 2003 MAIN FOCUS WILL BE WITH PRECIPITATION AND SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES. ATMOSPHERE BECOMING VERY UNSTABLE ACROSS THE CWA WITH CIN VALUES STEADILY BEING ERODED AWAY. 17Z SOUNDING FROM SGF SHOWS MID LEVEL TEMPERATURE DECREASES FROM THE 12Z SOUNDING ALONG WITH SURFACE HEATING AND A RISE OF DEW POINTS INTO THE MID 60S. THESE FACTORS HAVE LED TO CAPE VALUES OF AROUND 5000 J/KG OFF THE 17Z SOUNDING WITH NO NEGATIVE ENERGY. YESTERDAY RADAR AND VISIBILE IMAGERY SHOWED NUMEROUS OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM PREVIOUS CONVECTION LYING AROUND THE CWA. TODAY...NO BOUNDARIES ARE VISIBLE OVER THE AREA...WITH THE MAIN BOUNDARIES TO THE WEST ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS AND THE FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN MISSOURI. CUMULUS FIELD HAS ALREADY DEVELOPED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI WHERE THE CAP HAS ALREADY ERODED...WHILE SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND SOUTHWEST MISSOURI REMAIN VIRTUALLY CLOUD FREE AS OF 18Z. WOULD ANTICIPATE WIDELY SCATTERED PULSE TYPE INSTABILITY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE CWA GIVEN THE LACK OF ANY SIGNIFICANT BOUNDARIES ACROSS THE CWA. LARGE HAIL WOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP. STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE DRY LINE FURTHER WEST AND MOVE INTO THE WESTERN CWA THIS EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL BE MORE ORGANIZED WITH THE MAIN THREAT DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL. LOW LEVEL JET KICKS IN TONIGHT AND WOULD EXPECT ONGOING CONVECTION TO FORM INTO AN MCS. CORFIDI VECTORS WOULD TAKE MCS ACROSS THE CWA OVERNIGHT. CONVECTION TOMORROW WILL BE TRICKY. SHOULD HAVE SOME ONGOING CONVECTION FROM COMPLEX AT 12Z AND CONVECTIVE DEBRIS MAY HAMPER AFTERNOON INSTABILITY. FRONT/OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTION TO REDEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON SHOULD ENOUGH INSTABILITY BE AROUND AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. FRONT PUSHES FAR ENOUGH SOUTH BY FRIDAY FOR A DRY FORECAST INTO SATURDAY. FRONT SHOULD LIFT BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT ON SATURDAY AS NEXT SYSTEM DEVELOPS OUT IN PLAINS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS THIS SHORTWAVE MOVES INTO THE AREA. HAVE REMOVED MONDAY POPS FROM THE FORECAST AS AREA LOOKS TO GET DRY SLOTTED. .SGF... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. LINDENBERG
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 8:55 PM CST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-011100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 955 PM CDT WED APR 30 2003 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED: SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS...AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING: SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MISSOURI WEST OF A NEOSHO TO WARSAW LINE THROUGH 1 AM...AND WEST OF A SPRINGFIELD TO ELDON LINE BY 3 AM. THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD EAST INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. DISCUSSION: STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS WILL CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE AND SPREAD INTO SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MISSOURI THROUGH 2 AM. THE STORMS WILL SPREAD INTO THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS THURSDAY. A FEW SUPERCELLS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND FAR SOUTHWEST MISSOURI BEFORE THE STORMS EVOLVE INTO A LARGE COMPLEX. THIS COMPLEX OF STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL AS IT PUSHES ACROSS THE AREA. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM FOR SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND MUCH OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI...OR WEST OF A LINE FROM ELDON TO SPRINGFIELD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE POTENTIAL OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY AS THE STORM SYSTEM TRACKS ACROSS THE AREA. STORMS WILL WEAKEN ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY MORNING...BUT THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY BRINGING THE THREAT OF MORE THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED OVERNIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF FOSTER
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:30 PM CST, 3 hours before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1130 PM CDT WED APR 30 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1110 PM HARDING KS .88 INCH HAIL
04/30/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:55 PM CST, 2 hours 35 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1155 PM CDT WED APR 30 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1146 PM DEVON KS .75 INCH HAIL
04/30/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, Apr 30, 11:16 PM CST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1216 AM CDT THU MAY 01 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1201 AM HAMMOND KS .75 INCH HAIL
05/01/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY PUBLIC.Local storm report, Apr 30, 11:58 PM CST, 1 hour 32 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1258 AM CDT THU MAY 01 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1110 PM HARDING KS .88 INCH HAIL
04/30/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
1146 PM DEVON KS .75 INCH HAIL
04/30/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
1201 AM HAMMOND KS .75 INCH HAIL
05/01/03 BOURBON REPORTED BY PUBLIC.Local storm report, May 1, 12:32 AM CST, 58 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
0132 AM CDT THU MAY 01 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0121 AM FARLINGTON KS .75 INCH HAIL
05/01/03 CRAWFORD REPORTED BY FIRE AND
RESCUE.Local storm report, May 1, 1:29 AM CST, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
229 AM CDT THU MAY 01 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0220 AM STOCKTON MO .88 INCH HAIL
05/01/03 CEDAR REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:31 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heavy Rain in California, May 1 to 15, 2003
- Tornado in Oklahoma, May 1, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 1, 2003
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Oklahoma, May 1, 2003
- Flood in Alaska, May 1 to 4, 2003
- Tornado in Arkansas, May 1, 2003
- Tornado in Arkansas, May 1, 2003
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 1, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 1, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 1, 2003
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in New York, May 1, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 1 to 2, 2003
More
Every storm in Kansas in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 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: 5358555.