1 flash flood, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 3:10 AM CST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 410 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004 .DISCUSSION... MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS CONTINUE TO BE TEMPERATURES INTO NEXT WEEK AND PRECIP CHANCES THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. WATER VAPOR SHOWING UPPER LOW STILL SPINNING OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WITH INITIAL STRONGER VORT LOBE ROTATING NORTHEAST FROM THE LOW ACROSS WEST TX AND EASTERN CO AND IS HELPING TO GENERATE CONVECTION IN THESE AREAS. IT IS ALSO ALLOWING FOR GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT OUT AHEAD OF IT ACROSS OK AND KS. THIS SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE MORNING. SFC COLD FRONT HAS SLIPPED SOUTH THROUGH AL BUT THE FAR SOUTHEAST CWA AND SHOULD GRADUALLY SINK SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA THIS MORNING. IR SATELLITE SHOWING PLUME OF CLOUDS FROM DEEP CONVECTION WITHIN BETTER INSTABILITY ACROSS MUCH OF OK. WATER VAPOR ALSO SHOWING SHORTWAVE TROUGH DROPPING SOUTHEAST OUT OF SOUTHERN CANADA INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. MODELS ARE SIMILAR IN TRYING TO PHASE THIS NORTHERN STREAM WITH UPPER LOW MOVING OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST WHICH WILL HELP TO KEEP FORCING ACROSS MUCH OF THE CWA THIS MORNING AND ACROSS MAINLY THE SOUTHERN CWA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR THE SOUTHWEST SYSTEM TO MOVE OUT INTO THE PLAINS A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH THAN EARLIER RUNS HAD INDICATED AND SHOULD ALLOW FOR NOT ONLY THE 850 AND SFC FRONTS TO MOVE SOUTH EVEN FASTER LATER TODAY...BUT ALSO SHOULD ALLOW FOR CORRIDOR OF HEAVIER RAINS LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING TO SET UP FURTHER SOUTH OF THE CWA ACROSS THE OZARKS AND ALLOW FOR A RAPID DECREASE IN PRECIP CHANCES NORTH TO SOUTH LATER TONIGHT. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE EARLY SATURDAY IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST CWA...BUT THIS MAY NEED TO BE REMOVED IN LATER FCSTS IF MODEL TRENDS PERSIST. CLOUDCOVER/PRECIP AND LOW LEVEL CAA WILL LIMIT HIGHS TODAY TO ONLY THE UPPER 40S NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE CWA TO LOW 60S FAR SOUTHEAST CORNER. CLOUDS SHOULD BEGIN TO DECREASE NORTH TO SOUTH THROUGH THE MORNING SATURDAY AS TROUGH AXIS SHIFTS EASTWARD. NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVES ROTATING SOUTHEAST AROUND THE NORTHERN PLAINS UPPER TROUGH LOOK FURTHER NORTH OF THE CWA THAN PREVIOUS RUNS AND WILL KEEP FCST FOR THE REST OF THE WEEKEND DRY FOR NOW. RETURN LOW LEVEL FLOW MORE TO THE WEST LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND AGAIN BY EARLY MONDAY APPEARS TO BE KEEPING LOW TEMPS BOTH MORNING UP A LITTLE FROM PREVIOUS FCST...ALTHOUGH DID NOT MAKE A BIG ADJUSTMENT UP AT THIS TIME DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES WITH THE WINDS/CLOUDS AND THE DRY AIR THAT WILL BE IN PLACE. TWO SHORTWAVES...ONE ON TUESDAY AND THEN AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY PASS MAINLY TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA AND MOISTURE WILL BE LACKING...SO WILL KEEP EXTENDED FCST DRY AT THAT TIME. && .TOP...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 600 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-011059- ANDERSON-BROWN-CLAY-CLOUD-COFFEY-DICKINSON-DOUGLAS-FRANKLIN-GEARY- JACKSON-JEFFERSON-LYON-MARSHALL-MORRIS-NEMAHA-OSAGE-OTTAWA- POTTAWATOMIE-REPUBLIC-RILEY-SHAWNEE-WABAUNSEE-WASHINGTON- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ABILENE...CLAY CENTER...CONCORDIA... EMPORIA...HIAWATHA...JUNCTION CITY...LAWRENCE...MANHATTAN... MARYSVILLE...OTTAWA AND TOPEKA 600 AM CDT FRI APR 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. NO WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/TOP (ALL LOWER CASE)
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:44 UTC.
1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding. Water was reported over highway 75 south of Holton for a time.
Heavy rain produced areas of flooding. Standing water was reported in many areas for a time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, April 2004
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: 5388938, 5388939.