Weak convection developed along an ill defined stationary boundary at the surface over portions of east central kansas during the peak heating hours. While the convection amounted to little more than an enhanced cumulus field, there were several reports of funnel clouds reaching three quarters of the way to the ground.
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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 episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.
Weak convection developed along an ill defined stationary boundary at the surface over portions of east central kansas during the peak heating hours. While the convection amounted to little more than an enhanced cumulus field, there were several reports of funnel clouds reaching three quarters of the way to the ground. No tornadoes were reported, and funnel cloud formation was likely due to the typical dynamics associated with landspout tornadoes, although the stationary frontal boundary was very diffuse and difficult to locate.
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 9, 2:02 PM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 302 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2008 .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...THUNDERSTORMS FIRING IN EASTERN NEBRASKA ON WEAK UPPER WAVE AND AREA OF LOW LEVEL MOIST ADVECTION. THE STORMS ARE NOT MAKING MUCH PROGRESS TO THE SOUTH...BUT STILL LEFT SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN FOR THIS AFTERNOON IN EASTERN CWA AND ALSO IN THE FAR NORTHEAST THIS EVENING. OTHER CONCERN TONIGHT MAY BE REDEVELOPMENT OF PATCHY GROUND FOG. DEWPOINTS REMAIN IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S WITH LIGHT WINDS FORECAST AND CLEARING SKIES LATE. HOWEVER...DO NOT BELIEVE FOG WILL BE WIDESPREAD OR DENSE...JUST SOME LOCALIZED. HAVE LEFT FOG OUT OF THE FORECAST. ON THURSDAY...MODELS FORECASTING ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE TO MOVE THRU EASTERN NE/NORTHEAST KS. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW A GREAT DEAL OF INSTABILITY IN THE AFTERNOON AND CAP ERODES WITH TIME. EXPANDED AREA OF SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT ALSO TIGHTENS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AS LEE TROF DEVELOPS IN EASTERN CO/WY...SO HAVE INCREASED WIND SPEEDS AND ADDED SOME GUSTS TO THE FORECAST. STARK LONG TERM...UPPER AIR PATTERN THU NIGHT INTO FRIDAY CHARACTERIZED BY LARGE UPPER LOW PRESSURE OVER SASKATCHEWAN AND MANITOBA WITH SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF STRONG WESTERLY MID/UPPER LEVEL FLOW OVERSPREADING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. INCREASING SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND DEVELOPING H85 LOW LEVEL JET WILL AID IN MODEST SOUTHERLY WINDS ACROSS THE CWA...ESPECIALLY DURING AFTERNOON MIXING. REMNANTS OF NEAR SURFACE BOUNDARY AND SUBTLE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MAY PROVIDE SUFFICIENT FOCUS FOR ISO/SCT CONVECTION OVER EAST CENTRAL ZONES AND HAVE INSERTED MENTION IN FORECAST THU NIGHT INTO FRI MORNING. AFOREMENTIONED UPPER LOW WILL SEND ASSOCIATED SFC COLD FRONT SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE CWA LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING. BEST CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE BETWEEN A 24 HOUR PERIOD FROM MIDNIGHT SAT THROUGH MIDNIGHT SUN. VERTICAL WIND PROFILES AND AVAILABLE INSTABILITY WILL SUPPORT MULTI-CELL CONVECTION AT BEST. LOCALIZED AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH PW OF 1.7 BUT PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD PRECLUDE WIDESPREAD WATER ISSUES. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND THE COLD FRONT ON SUNDAY WITH DRIER AND SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR ADVECTING INTO THE CWA. CONDITIONS SHOULD REMAIN DRY FOR SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN CONTROL. AS THE HIGH SLIDES OFF TO THE EAST ON TUESDAY...RETURN FLOW ENTERS BACK INTO THE CWA WITH THE UPPER AIR PATTERN DEAMPLIFYING. LARGE UNCERTAINTY THIS FAR OUT WITH ANTICIPATED PATTERN TO PREDICT PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION. GFS PARTIALLY SUFFERING FROM CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK TUES INTO WED. WHILE SLIGHT CHANCES OF CONVECTION WOULD APPEAR PLAUSIBLE TUE INTO WED...HAVE OPTED TO HOLD OFF MENTION UNTIL BETTER RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY CAN BE ESTABLISHED. BLAIR && .AVIATION... AREA OF STRATUS IS GRADUALLY LIFTING AND THINNING...BUT IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE SLOWER THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED. EXPECT THE TREND TO CONTINUE AFTER 18Z WITH VFR CONDS OVER ALL TAF SITES AFT 21Z. LIGHT WINDS AND MID LEVEL CLOUDS ARE THEN EXPECTED THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS WITH MORE PATCHY GROUND FOG FORMING AFT 07Z...HOWEVER CIGS AND VISIBILITIES ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS LOW AS THOSE OF THIS MORNING. FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...BUT HAVE KEPT OUT OF THE TAF SITES AS WE WILL SEE ONLY ISOLATEC COVERAGE. STARK && .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 320 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2008 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-102030- REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY- POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS- WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON- 320 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER FAR NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA...GENERALLY NORTH OF A CONCORDIA TO HOLTON LINE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ON THURSDAY...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE IN THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY RESULTING IN INCREASING CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS. AGAIN...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. BLAIR
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 408 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2008 KSZ054-092145- LYON- 410 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2008 THROUGH 445 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER FAR SOUTHWEST LYON COUNTY. THIS THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PENNY SIZE HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. A BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUD WAS ALSO REPORTED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. THE BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO TOUCH THE GROUND...HOWEVER THE STORM COULD STRENGTHEN AND A WARNING MAY BE ISSUED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. STARK
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:10 UTC.
2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
County dispatch relayed several public reports of two funnel clouds in close vicinity to one another in the southwest corner of Lyon County.
Deputy reported a funnel cloud near the Franklin County line. County officials also passed along a public report of a funnel cloud at the same location.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, July 2008
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: 128317, 128316.