1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 18, 12:15 PM MST, 11 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 115 PM MDT SUN MAY 18 2003 TONIGHT...WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EVENT EXPECTED DUE TO PRESENCE OF MOIST/UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND STRONG COLD FRONTAL FORCING/LIFT LATE. IMPRESSIVE LOW/MID LEVEL THETA-E RIDGE AXIS ORIENTED NORTH-SOUTH EXISTS ACROSS WESTERN KS WITH ADEQUATE WIND SHEAR/INSTABILITY. EXPECT INITIAL THUNDERSTORM DEVLOPMENT ACROSS EASTERN CO PLAINS IN LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AXIS. MORE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED LATE THIS EVENING/AFTER MIDNIGHT AS THE STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPS QUICKLY SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE POTENTIAL INSTABILITY/THETA-E RIDGE AXIS. BASED ON LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE PROGNOSIS...MOST NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE/QUANTITATIVE PRECIPITATION WILL BE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST ZONES. HAVE FOLLOWED ETA AS ITS FIELDS LOOK THE CLOSEST TO EXPECTED SCENARIO. CANNOT RULE OUT SEVERE STORMS ANYWHERE BASED ON ADEQUATE INSTABILITY/WIND SHEAR/LIFT...BUT NORTH/EAST ZONES HAVE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL. MON...STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT/LOW LEVEL THERMAL GRADIENT AND DEEP UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW SUGGEST WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA WINDS (25-35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45). WITH ALL THE ACTIVE WEATHER TONIGHT...WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING A 2ND PERIOD WIND ADVISORY. SHOULD SEE SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN ZONES END BY MIDDAY AS LOW/MID LEVEL FORCING CEASES. TUE...DESPITE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT...STRONG SURFACE HIGH ACROSS THE PLAINS STATES/LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW WILL PRODUCE A COOL DAY WITH 850 MB TEMPERATURES FROM 6-13C. SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CONFINED TO THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE...SO DRY HERE. WED...NW FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS WITH LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE CONTINUING. SHOULD SEE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THE COLORADO I-25 CORRIDOR...THEN PROPAGATE SOUTHEASTWARD IN THE NW FLOW ALOFT. THUS...BEST THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL WILL BE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST ZONES DURING THE EVENING. WILL KEEP IT DRY FOR NOW THOUGH. THU...UPSLOPE LOW LEVEL FLOW CONTINUES. HOWEVER...WITH FLOW ALOFT VEERING TO MORE NORTH-NORTHWEST DIRECTION AND WEAKENING...EXPECT STORMS THAT INITIATE ALONG THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE TO STAY WEST OF OUR ZONES. FRI/SAT/SUN...18/00Z GFS RUN SIMILAR TO 17/00Z RUN LEADING TO MORE FORECAST CONFIDENCE. STRONG RIDGING ALOFT SHOULD PRECLUDE THUNDERSTORMS. BASED ON GFS 850 MB TEMPERATURES AND STRENGTH OF RIDGING ALOFT...GFS HIGHS LOOK TOO COLD. .GLD...NONE. SAR
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-191200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 644 PM MDT SUN MAY 18 2003 .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE TRI-STATE AREA TONIGHT BETWEEN 8 PM AND 2 AM MDT (9 PM AND 3 AM CDT). HAIL LARGER THAN ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH ARE POSSIBLE AS THE STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. STORMS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. AFTER THE STORMS MOVE THROUGH...THEY WILL BE FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY A COLD FRONT PACKING NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PLUNGE SOUTH MONDAY ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG NORTH WINDS. WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVIATION MAY BE REQUIRED. ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE TOO DARK FOR MOBILE SPOTTING ACTIVITIES...REPORTS OF HAIL IN EXCESS OF 1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER...WIND GUSTS OF 50 MPH OR MORE...AND WIND DAMAGE WOULD BE APPRECIATED OVERNIGHT. ENTWISTLE
COZ090>092-190400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 939 PM MDT SUN MAY 18 2003 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR FAR EASTERN COLORADO HAS BEEN CANCELLED... ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS OVER THE REGION OVERNIGHT...CONDITIONS ARE NO LONGER FAVORABLE FOR LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS. ENTWISTLE
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 138 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:00 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Two feet of standing water on county road 2 miles north of McCook.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, May 2003
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: 5352289.