Flash Flood in Kansas, October 8, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in Kansas, October 8, 2003
Start: 2003-10-08T19:00
End: 2003-10-08T21:00
Location: Kansas

October 8, 2003 · NWS TOP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Riley

When: October 8, 7:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Riley County, 7 mi E of Riley
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.297, -96.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rains that fell during the early afternoon of the 8th were followed by another round of rainfall during the late afternoon and evening hours. The excessive rainfall, which totaled in the 2 to 4 inch range, produced considerable runoff and flash flooding. A low water crossing on Blue River Hills Road 7 miles east of Riley was flooded during the evening hours, and at times was reported to be 2 and 1/2 feet deep. A tree was washed onto Stockdale Road 7 miles northwest of Manhattan. The waters finally receded around 2100 hours.

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

Every storm in Kansas in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5337695.