5 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 Jul 24, 2:25 AM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 325 AM CDT SAT JUL 24 2004 .DISCUSSION... PRIMARY FORECAST CHALLENGES ARE PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND AMOUNTS TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...AND TEMPERATURES TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE 00Z UPPER AIR MAPS ALONG WITH WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER WYOMING AND NORTHERN CO DIGGING SOUTHEAST INTO THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS. AN 850 MB LOW WAS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHWEST OK...CAUSING THE 850MB WINDS OVER SOUTHERN KS TO BECOME SOUTHERLY. THE SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL ADVECT DEEP GULF MOISTURE NORTH OVER THE SURFACE FRONT CAUSING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE ACROSS MOST OF THE FA TODAY. BANDS OF MODERATE RAINFALL WERE NOTED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES OF THE FA EARLY THIS MORNING. AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-35 MAY EXPERIENCE LOCALIZED FLOODING THIS MORNING DUE TO THE SATURATED GROUND FROM THURSDAY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE LATEST 6Z MESO ETA FCST MODEL SHOWS THE 850MB LOW SHIFTING EAST INTO EXTREME SOUTHEAST KS BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CAUSE THE BEST ISENTROPIC LIFT TO MOVE EAST OF THE FA OVER WESTERN MO DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE MODERATE RAINFALL SHOULD MOVE EAST OF THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. I WAS THINKING ABOUT ISSUING A FLOOD WATCH FOR THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES BUT WAS NOT CONFIDENT IN THE QPF SURPASSING FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE. THE COOL AIRMASS AT THE SURFACE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE. TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL BE NEARLY STEADY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S IN THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES TO THE LOWER 70S IN THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES DUE TO EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND PERIODS OF RAIN. THE RAIN CHANCES SHOULD END EARLY SATURDAY MORNING FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE FA AS THE 5H TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS DIGS SOUTHEAST INTO THE MID MS RIVER VALLEY. DRIER AIR WILL ADVECT SOUTH AND SKIES WILL CLEAR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE COOL ON SUNDAY WITH HIGHS ONLY REACHING THE MID TO UPPER 70S. THE COOL SURFACE RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL MOVE EAST OF THE REGION BY BY MID WEEK ALLOWING HIGH TEMPERATURES TO WARM INTO THE MID 80S BY NEXT TUESDAY. DEEPER GULF MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO ADVECT NORTH TUESDAY NIGHT/WED MORNING PROVIDING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK. && .TOP...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 448 AM CDT SAT JUL 24 2004 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-251000- 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 448 AM CDT SAT JUL 24 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY ALONG AND EAST OF A COUNCIL GROVE TO ALMA TO HOLTON LINE. MINOR FLOODING MAY OCCUR SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 35 WHERE THE GROUND REMAINS SATURATED FROM HEAVY RAINFALL 48 HOURS AGO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH AND ANY OBSERVED FLOODING. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/TOP (ALL LOWER CASE)
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:30 UTC.
5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rains totaling 3 to 6 inches the morning of the 24th with flash flooding the result. Numerous rural roads and bridges were washed out or badly damaged. Damage totals were over 900 thousand dollars.
Several rural roads in Osage county had up to 10 inches of water over them for a time.
Several roads near Topeka were closed for a time due to high water.
Heavy rains totaling around 3 inches produced flash flooding for a time. Several streets in Lawrence were closed for a time due to high water.
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, July 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: 5405332, 5405333, 5405334, 5405335, 5405336.