Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 22, 2004

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 22, 2004
Start: 2004-05-22T19:52
End: 2004-05-22T21:15
Location: Kansas

May 22, 2004 · NWS TOP · 6 events in 1 county or zone

2 hail, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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: 6

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 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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 2:45 PM CST, 5 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:45 PM CST, 5 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
345 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS CONTINUE PROGRESSION OF SEVERAL BOUNDARIES THROUGH THE AREA
THE NEXT WEEK. FIRST SIGNIFICANT BOUNDARY WITH GOOD UPPER SUPPORT
MOVING THROUGH TONIGHT. MUCH DRYER AIR SHOULD OVERSPREAD THE AREA
LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY. STRONG MOISTURE ADVECTION MAY LEAD TO
SOME ELEVATED CONVECTION LATE SUNDAY NIGHT EASTERN PORTION OF CWA.
THEN ANOTHER BOUNDARY MOVES THROUGH LATE MONDAY...APPEARS TO BE
MAINLY A DRY LINE TYPE BOUNDARY BUT STILL GIVING MOST OF CWA A
CHANCE FOR MORE STORMS BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. COOLER AIR SETTLES INTO
THE AREA FOR MIDWEEK...BUT STILL ENOUGH LIFT AND MOISTURE WITH
WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT FOR LINGERING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND PERHAPS
THUNDER FOR ALL OR PARTS OF CWA UNTIL WEDNESDAY EVENING. SHORT WAVE
H5 RIDGING SHOULD THEN GIVE AREA A BREAK IN ACTION UNTIL ANOTHER
WAVE IS EJECTED LATE THURSDAY FROM MEAN TROF POSITION IN THE WEST.
THIS WAVES TIMING AND AMPLITUDE REALLY IN QUESTION AT THIS TIME.
EARLIER (00Z) GFS HAD MUCH STRONGER AND FASTER WAVE MOVING INTO THE
PLAINS. OTHER MODELS AND ENSEMBLES SUPPORT SLOWER MOVEMENT. WILL
INCLUDE SOME LOWER POPS LATE THURSDAY AND EARLY FRIDAY WITH THIS
WAVE...BUT CONFIDENCE VERY LOW. BY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...MUCH MORE
SIGNIFICANT FULL LATITUDE WAVE APPROACHES THE CENTRAL PLAINS...AND
HAVE A BIT MORE CONFIDENCE INTRODUCING SOME LOWER POPS NEXT
SATURDAY. GIVEN MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...AND STRENGTH OF UPPER SYSTEM
APPROACHING...THOUGHT IT PRUDENT TO MENTION SOME PRECIPITATION AT
THIS TIME.

TEMPERATURE WISE...AFTER MIDWEEK COOLING...WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO
SEE TEMPERATURES MUCH WARMER THAN THOSE FORECAST BY HPC...ESPECIALLY
IF 12Z GFS H850 TEMPS VERIFY. WILL AWAIT LATER RUNS...BUT FOR NOW
WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S CWA-WIDE THURSDAY-SATURDAY.

&&

.TOP...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 2:52 PM CST, 5 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
352 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-231000-
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
352 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ALL THE AREA
TONIGHT...MAINLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT OVER NORTHCENTRAL AND EXTREME
NORTHEAST KANSAS...THEN AFTER MIDNIGHT OVER NORTHEAST AND EASTCENTRAL
KANSAS. THE MAIN THREAT WITH BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WIND...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED TORNADOS COULD NOT BE RULED OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

MORE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER EAST CENTRAL KANSAS SUNDAY
NIGHT. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY
AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AND AGAIN THURSDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE:
   HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/TOP  (ALL LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 7:52 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
852 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0844 PM     TORNADO          REPUBLIC                39.92N 97.82W
05/22/2004                   REPUBLIC           KS   STORM CHASER

            TORNADO NEAR REPUBLIC

&&

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:53 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Republic

When: May 22, 7:52 PM CST
Where: Republic County, Republic
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.828, -97.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was sighted over Republic.

Hail, Republic

When: May 22, 7:52 PM CST
Where: Republic County, 1 mi ESE of Republic
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.917, -97.800

Tornado, Republic

When: May 22, 7:56 PM CST
Where: Republic County, 4 mi NE of Republic
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: STORM CHASER
Coordinates: 39.950, -97.767

A tornado briefly touched down in rural country near Republic.

Tornado, Republic

When: May 22, 7:59 PM CST
Where: Republic County, 6 mi NE of Republic
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: STORM CHASER
Coordinates: 39.983, -97.733

A tornado briefly touched down in a rural area northeast of Republic.

Hail, Republic

When: May 22, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Republic County, 3 mi N of Republic
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.967, -97.817

Thunderstorm Wind, Republic

When: May 22, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Republic County, 5 mi SSW of Republic
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.850, -97.850

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kansas in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 2004 Warnings in Kansas, May 2004

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: 5399184, 5399185, 5399186, 5399187, 5399188, 5399189.