Moisture plume from the Southwest United States spread northeast towards the plains and interacted with a stationary boundary to produce a deluge of rainfall across Central and South Central Kansas. 00 inches on the West side of Wichita, Kansas.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS ICT wrote it up.
Moisture plume from the Southwest United States spread northeast towards the plains and interacted with a stationary boundary to produce a deluge of rainfall across Central and South Central Kansas. Rainfall amounts were generally around 5 inches, however isolated amounts reached up to 11.00 inches on the West side of Wichita, Kansas. Wichita Mid Continent Airport reported the greatest 24 rainfall total (10.31 inches) in its history.
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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 11, 5:43 PM CST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 643 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008 .AVIATION...00Z TAF UPDATE KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU MVFR CIGS/VISIBILITIES WILL GRADUALLY LOWER TO IFR CATEGORY TONIGHT FOR MOST TERMINALS...AND COULD EVEN REACH LIFR CONDITIONS LATER TONIGHT. MEANWHILE...PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND A FEW EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE REGION TONIGHT. THE GREATEST RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS COULD AFFECT RSL TERMINAL FROM 00-03Z AND WILL GO WITH A TEMPO GROUP...OTHERWISE ALL OTHER TERMINALS WILL BE VOID OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. JAKUB && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 340 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008/ DISCUSSION... FORECAST CONCERNS CONTINUE TO BE HEAVY RAINFALL CHANCES FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS...THEN EFFECTS OF IKE REMNANTS FOR THE END OF THE WEEKEND. TONIGHT: LARGE AREA OF SHRA AND SOME ISOLATED TSRA CONTINUES ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN KS AT THIS TIME. THIS AREA OF PRECIP IS SLOWLY LIFTING TO THE NORTH AS THE LATE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES. THIS LARGE AREA OF PRECIP IS BEING AIDED BY ISENTROPIC LIFT IN THE 315-320K LAYER. MODELS CONTINUE THIS AREA OF LIFT...INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN THE LOW LAYERS FOR SHRA AND POSSIBLE TSRA. COULD ALSO SEE SOME HEAVIER POCKETS OF RAIN ACROSS THE REGION AS UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENCE COULD LEAD TO SOME VERY EFFICIENT RAIN PRODUCERS. SO FLOOD WATCH LOOKS RIGHT ON TRACK AS AXIS OF RAINFALL LIFTS A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH OVERNIGHT. FRI-SAT: DO EXPECT SHRA AND POSSIBLY SOME ISOLATED TSRA TO CONTINUE INTO FRI GENERALLY ALONG AN AXIS FROM MKC-NEWTON AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS ACROSS THE AREA. THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE FOCUS FOR PRECIP ON FRI AS ISENTROPIC LIFT IN THE 310-315K LAYER CONTINUES TO PUMP LOTS OF MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. COULD ALSO SEE A WAVE ALONG THE STALLED FRONT BY FRI AFTERNOON/EVENING AS AREA GETS UNDER INFLUENCE OF RIGHT REAR QUAD OF THE UPPER LEVEL JET. SO CURRENT LOCATION OF FLOOD WATCH LOOKS FINE...WITH SOME AREAS POSSIBLY GETTING 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL BY SAT MORNING. AM A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACTUALLY LIFTING BACK TO THE NORTH SOME ON SAT AS HURRICANE IKE COMES ASHORE ALONG THE TX COAST....SLOWING THINGS DOWN TO A CRAWL ACROSS THE PLAINS. THIS COULD PUSH THE MAIN RAIN AXIS A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH ON SAT...GENERALLY JUST SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 70 FROM MKC-HUT. THIS WOULD ACTUALLY BRING SOME WEAK SUBSIDENCE INTO SOUTHEAST KS...BUT SOME WEAK LIFT KEEPS CLOUDS AND MOISTURE AROUND...SO COULD STILL SEE SOME SCATTERED SHRA AROUND FOR NOW...SO WILL LEAVE POPS IN THE LIKELY CATEGORY IN MOST LOCATIONS. SUN-MON: MODELS SEEM TO BE COMING INTO SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT ON HOW TROPICAL REMNANTS OF IKE WILL INTERACT WITH KS FOR SUN INTO MON. CURRENT MODEL PROJECTIONS TAKE CENTER OF IKE INTO WRN ARK BY SUN 12Z. ECMWF LOOKS THE MOST PROGRESSIVE WITH THIS SOLUTION....TAKING IKE WELL TO THE EAST OF THE AREA BY LATE SUN. GFS IS SLOWER AND A LITTLE FURTHER TO THE NW...KEEPING PRECIP BANDS ACROSS SOUTHEAST KS LONGER INTO SUN NIGHT. BOTH MODELS SIMILAR TO HURRICANE CENTERS CURRENT TRACK... WITH RAIN BANDS ON THE NW SIDE OF IKE AFFECTING SOUTHEAST KS FOR MOST OF THE DAY ON SUN. CURRENT THINKING IS THE HEAVIEST PRECIP WITH THIS TROPICAL SYSTEM WILL STAY TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE TURNPIKE ..KEEPING ICT METRO OUT OF THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL. WITH THAT SAID....SOUTHEASTERN KS WILL CERTAINLY BE UNDER THE GUN WHEN IT COMES TO RAINFALL ON SUNDAY...GIVEN BANDS OF RAINFALL EXPECTED ON THE NW SIDE OF IKE WITH EXTREME SOUTHEAST KS LOOKING TO GET THE MOST RAINFALL. WILL CERTAINLY HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS POTENTIAL FLOODING SITUATION...AS THE WEEKEND APPROACHES. WILL START TO DRY THINGS OUT FROM NW TO SOUTHEAST AS EARLY MON PROGRESSES...WITH SUNSHINE RETURNING TO THE AREA BY MON AFTERNOON. MON NIGHT-WED: IKE REMNANTS LOOK TO MOVE TO THE EAST OF THE AREA BY MON EVENING ..EVEN WITH THE SLOWER GFS SOLUTION. CURRENT MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SUGGEST THAT AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE ROCKIES FOR TUE INTO WED. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO A SURFACE RIDGE BUILDING ACROSS THE REGION WITH SUNNY AND PLEASANT CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO HELP DRY THINGS OUT. KETCHAM && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 67 76 66 76 / 90 80 60 60 HUTCHINSON 65 74 64 76 / 70 80 60 60 NEWTON 66 75 65 76 / 90 80 60 60 ELDORADO 68 76 67 76 / 90 80 60 60 WINFIELD-KWLD 69 78 68 76 / 90 80 60 60 RUSSELL 61 72 60 79 / 50 40 40 40 GREAT BEND 62 72 61 78 / 60 50 40 50 SALINA 64 72 63 77 / 60 70 50 50 MCPHERSON 65 73 64 76 / 70 80 60 60 COFFEYVILLE 69 80 69 79 / 80 60 60 60 CHANUTE 69 79 69 78 / 80 60 60 60 IOLA 69 78 69 78 / 80 70 60 60 PARSONS-KPPF 69 80 69 79 / 80 60 60 70 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH FROM 1 AM CDT FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING FOR KSZ051>053-067>071-082-083-091>094. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 430 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-121015- RUSSELL-LINCOLN-BARTON-ELLSWORTH-SALINE-RICE-MCPHERSON-MARION-CHASE- RENO-HARVEY-BUTLER-GREENWOOD-WOODSON-ALLEN-KINGMAN-SEDGWICK-HARPER- SUMNER-COWLEY-ELK-WILSON-NEOSHO-CHAUTAUQUA-MONTGOMERY-LABETTE- 430 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING...AND BECOME NUMEROUS AND WIDESPREAD BY TONIGHT...AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY APPROACHES FROM THE WEST AND INTERACTS WITH INCREASING TROPICAL MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA. STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WATCH PRODUCT FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A WET WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH VARIOUS ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING MUCH OF THE AREA. STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...BUT HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING WILL BE A CONCERN. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WATCH PRODUCT FOR MORE DETAILS. FURTHERMORE...REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IKE COULD APPROACH FROM THE SOUTH SOMETIME ON SUNDAY.....POTENTIALLY BRINGING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LATER FORECASTS AND OUTLOOKS...AS THERE REMAINS SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE HEAVIEST AXIS OF RAINFALL OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTERS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT...BUT FLOODING AND OR RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP ADK/KETCHAM
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
828 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0821 PM HEAVY RAIN RUSSELL AIRPORT 38.87N 98.82W
09/11/2008 M0.49 INCH RUSSELL KS ASOS
RUSSELL AIRPORT ASOS REPORTED NEAR HALF AN INCH OF
RAINFALL IN TEN MINUTES.
&&
CDJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
830 PM CDT THU SEP 11 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0822 PM HEAVY RAIN WALDO 39.12N 98.80W
09/11/2008 M3.60 INCH RUSSELL KS LAW ENFORCEMENT
AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT HAS FALLEN IN THE LAST 2.5 TO 3
HOURS.
&&
JMBThe Grand Island radar (KUEX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:01 UTC.
20 flash flood, 10 heavy rain, 3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A local observer reported 5.25 inches of rain along Paradise Creek. This caused roads to flood along the creek and washed out some small bridges.
Wichita Mid Continent Airport measured its all time greatest 24 hour rainfall total of 10.31 inches.
An observer reported 9.81 inches of rain during the event.
Kansas Highway 44 east of Anthony and Kansas State road 179 south of Anthony were closed due to high water. Also, many county roads were closed throughout the county.
A foot of water was reported over Highway 160 in the town of Harper. Water ran curb to curb along Highway 160 through town. Portions of South Pine and South Central were barricaded. A Harper police partol car had to be removed from service after water flooded the interior.
There was 5.63 inches of rainfall reported in Rose Hill during the morning hours.
Flash flooding was reported 5 miles west of Winfield.
Water covered the road for a good portion of the day on Highway 77 north of El Dorado.
Local broadcast media reported that a mobile home park was being evacuated due to high water in the town of Douglass.
Two water rescues took place in Augusta in and around Augusta City Lake, near Gavin Park. One vehicle near Gavin park was engulfed by the high water, stranding the motorist.
A county official reported 4.4 inches of rainfall since midnight.
Cowley Highway 3 had water over the road 4 miles south of Udall.
Cowley County Road 2 just east of Rock had water over the road.
Water ran over numerous roads across the county. Fast runnnig water covered the road along Highway 81 west of Belle Plaine and also south of Belle Plaine on Oliver near 60th Avenue. A water rescue was performed at 60th Avenue when a pickup truck tried to drive through 2 feet deep water and became stranded when his truck was pushed off the road. A local resident with an airboat helped in the rescue.
Six inches of rainfall fell over Augusta in a six hour period.
Nine to twelve inches of rainfall during the morning commute hours causing widespread street flooding of roadways up to 2 to 3 feet deep on the West side of the City of Wichita. Law enforcement officials reported 150 people were rescued from vehicles or evacuated because of the high water. 114 homes reported some type of surface flooding due to the heavy rainfall and sewers and sump pumps backed up into 141 more homes. This unprecedented amount of rainfall mainly fell during a five hour period, reminding some of the Halloween Flood of 1998. The large amount of rainfall caused the Cowskin/Calfskin Creek to once again come out of its banks, flooding homes in the Dells and Hidden Lakes Subdivision. 35 people were evacuated from the Park West Retirement home along the banks of the creek. Calls about stalled vehicles overwhelmed towing businesses across the city.
Rainfall amounts of 10.80 inches caused widespread flooding across Valley Center. Hit the hardest was the Praire Lakes subdivision, where the large amount of rain caused the retention pond around the subdivision to rise rapidly and flood basements and stall cars. The Valley Center school district dismissed students early due to the high water and blocked access in and out of Valley Center.
Rainfall amounts of 6.40 inches lead to widespread reports of water over county roads southwest of Wichita.
Almost 6 inches of rainfall overwhelmed the sewer and flood control systems in and around Park City. This caused the closure of portions of 53rd Street, Hydraulic and Broadway through town. Crews were called into to sandbag in and around The Park City Hall near 61st and Hydraulic.
Observer reported 6.50 inches of rainfall in Park City.
Rapidly rising water along the Walnut River caused the Winfield Fairgrounds to flood. This flood caused the rapid evacuation of thousands of campers who had come to claim thier spot for the annual Walnut Valley Festival. Muddy conditions caused by up to 3.50 inches of rainfall lead to many of the campers to be pulled or towed out of the effected area. The water inundated the main grandstand and most of the stages, causing superfical damage but mainly caused some minor road damage.
Widespread heavy rains of 8 to 10 inches caused flooding of numerous county roads across Northern Sedgwick County. One fatality occurred to the south of the town of Sedgwick, near the 11200 block of North West, when a stalled motorist apparently attempted to flee his vehicle and was swept into the ditch by the fast moving water and drowned.
Almost 10 inches of rainfall closed roads in the town of Maize and just to the south of Maize. Numerous homes reported flooded basements. The high waters forced the Maize USD 266 school district to dismiss classes early due to the lack of open roads.
A National Weather Service employee measured 10.10 inches of rain.
Kansas Highway 49 north of Conway Springs and Kansas HIghway 42 near Suppesville were closed due to high water.
Water was over county road 190th at Mustang.
Water was over County Road 40th at Timber Road and Upland Road.
A vehicle traveling north, hit water standing on the roadway and lost control south of Rago on Kansas Highway 14. The driver of the car was injured when his left arm/elbow went through the drivers window.
Interstate 35 (The Kansas Turnpike) was closed due to high water at mile marker 16. This 2 mile stretch of road closure caused interstate traffic to be diverted at the Wellington, Kansas exit (mile marker 19) through Wellington, which then returned to the interstate at the South Haven, Kansas (mile marker 4) interchange.
There was 3.80 inches of rainfall reported at Attica High School.
A trained spotter reported 8.00 inches of rainfall for the storm.
Flooding along the Ninnescah River lead to evacuations in the Ponderosa area west of Belle Plaine.
Raging water along the Chikaskia River caused 5 teenagers to become trapped, as they were rafting down the river. The water rescue that followed lead to 3 emergency workers ending up in the water along with the stranded teenagers. A volunteer firefighter then attempted to make an individual rescue, but lost his balance, and was swept under by the strong current. The man later died from injuries sustained during the rescue.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Sedgwick | 2008-09-12 | 64 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flood, Sumner | 2008-09-13 | 47 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, September 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: 135661, 135401, 135673, 134626, 134625, 134629, 135222, 134637, 134631, 134632, 134636, 135223, 135225, 135138, 134634, 135397, 135395, 135398, 135235, 135234, 135233, 135396, 135236, 135399, 135221, 135231, 135232, 134628, 135139, 134627, 135400, 135681, 135170.