Various slow moving thunderstorms along a weak frontal boundary produced 3 to 5 inches of rainfall during the late night hours of the 15th across portions of Sumner county. Flooding of various roads ensued across mainly central and southern portions of the county, including a portion of Highway 81 south of Wellington.
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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 ICT wrote it up.
Various slow moving thunderstorms along a weak frontal boundary produced 3 to 5 inches of rainfall during the late night hours of the 15th across portions of Sumner county. Flooding of various roads ensued across mainly central and southern portions of the county, including a portion of Highway 81 south of Wellington.
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 Jul 16, 5:39 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 639 AM CDT THU JUL 16 2009 .AVIATION...12Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU MAIN AVIATION CONCERN WILL BE STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT PASSAGE. CURRENTLY HAVE A COLD FRONT SURGING ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS WITH THIS FEATURE CURRENTLY BISECTING NE FROM EAST TO WEST. STORMS DEVELOPED ALONG THE FRONT AND CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN NE. ADDITIONAL STORMS DEVELOPED OVER SW NE AFTER MIDNIGHT AS THE BETTER ISENTROPIC LIFT AND MOISTURE TRANSPORT SHIFTED NORTH. BOTH GFS AND NAM DID A POOR JOB INITIALIZING THIS AREA OF CONVECTION WITH THE RUC DOING THE BEST. NOT TOO SURE IF THE STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE OVER THE CONVECTION OVER NORTHERN KS OR IF WE MAINTAIN TWO SEPARATE AREAS OF CONVECTION. SINCE THE ACTIVITY OVER NORTH CENTRAL KS HASNT SHOWN ANY INDICATIONS YET OF DYING OUT...WILL GO WITH THE THINKING THAT THE CONVECTION WILL AFFECT CENTRAL KS BEFORE THE COLD FRONT STORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA. BY 00Z THE COLD FRONT/STORMS WILL BE APPROACHING THE KS/OK BORDER WITH NORTHEAST WINDS AND COOLER AIR OVERSPREAD THE FORECAST AREA. LAWSON && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 242 AM CDT THU JUL 16 2009/ DISCUSSION... MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGES WILL FOCUS ON POSSIBLE SEVERE MCS TODAY...FOLLOWED BY PLEASANT COOLER THAN NORMAL JULY TEMPERATURES FOR THE WEEKEND AND BEYOND. TDY-TONIGHT ONCE AGAIN SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY...RESIDUAL ISENTROPIC LIFT OVER THE AREA WILL CAUSE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO LINGER. SOME POCKETS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS THIS MORNING...AS MOISTURE TRANSPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE AREA WITH TRAINING ECHOS. MEANWHILE...CURRENT SATELLITE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS NEXT IMPULSE OVER MONTANA...WHICH WILL RACE EAST SOUTHEAST INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA BY THIS EVENING. ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS WAVE HAS ALREADY BROKEN OUT OVER SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHERN NEBRASKA. EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO EXPAND SOUTHWARD TOWARDS CENTRAL KANSAS BY THIS AFTERNOON. SREF GUIDANCE SHOWS EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR AND INSTABILITY VALUES SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN KANSAS. IF WE SEE A FAIR AMOUNT OF SUNSHINE OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN KANSAS PRIOR TO THIS SOUTHWARD MOVING MCS FROM NEBRASKA...THIS WOULD BOOST THE INSTABILITY AND GREATLY INCREASE SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES OVER THE REGION. A FORWARD PROPAGATING MCS COULD MATERIALIZE DAMAGING WIND EVENT FRI-SAT THE COOLER BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THIS PERIOD WILL GIVE KANSAS A NICE BREAK FROM THE EXTREME HEAT JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO...AS DAYTIME HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 80S WITH LIGHTER WINDS YIELDING NEAR 5-STAR WEATHER DAYS. ANOTHER IMPULSE WILL DROP SOUTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS FRIDAY NIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF THIS ACTIVITY CLIPPING SOME OF OUR WESTERN COUNTIES. EXTENDED: SUN-WED CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT BELOW NORMAL JULY TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL FOR SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AND COULD EXTEND INTO MID-WEEK. MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A HEALTHY IMPULSE TRAVELING SOUTHEAST VIA NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS...WHICH COULD SPARK OFF SOME PRECIPITATION FOR LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY ACROSS KANSAS. THE NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME WILL STAY LOCKED IN PLACE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS THROUGH TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...WITH ECMWF MODEL SHOWING ANOTHER REINFORCING SHOT OF COOLER AIR VENTURING SOUTHWARD. THIS WILL KEEP THE HIGHER HEAT AWAY FOR JAKUB AVIATION...06Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU STRONG TO SEVERE CONVECTION WILL AFFECT PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS INTO THE EARLY PREDAWN HOURS...AS MODEST LOW LEVEL JET BEGINS TO IMPINGE ON MODERATE ELEVATED INSTABILITY ACROSS THE AREA. THOUGH VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THRU THE FORECAST VALID PERIOD...EXPECT BOUTS OF MVFR CIGS/VSBYS IN THE VICINITY OF THE CONVECTION. ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE STORMS MAY AFFECT MUCH OF THE AREA ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON...AS A SECONDARY SURFACE FRONT SLIDES SOUTH ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS. KED && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 90 68 87 63 / 60 60 10 20 HUTCHINSON 90 67 87 61 / 60 40 10 20 NEWTON 89 67 86 62 / 60 40 10 20 ELDORADO 89 68 86 62 / 60 50 10 20 WINFIELD-KWLD 91 69 88 63 / 60 60 10 20 RUSSELL 88 64 86 61 / 60 20 10 20 GREAT BEND 90 65 87 61 / 60 30 10 30 SALINA 87 64 85 61 / 60 30 10 20 MCPHERSON 89 66 86 61 / 60 30 10 20 COFFEYVILLE 90 69 87 62 / 40 60 10 10 CHANUTE 88 68 85 62 / 40 50 10 10 IOLA 88 68 85 61 / 40 50 10 10 PARSONS-KPPF 89 69 86 62 / 40 60 10 10 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 510 AM CDT THU JUL 16 2009 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-171015- 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- 510 AM CDT THU JUL 16 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO TRACK SOUTHWARD FROM NEBRASKA INTO KANSAS TODAY. IF AMPLE DAYTIME HEATING CAN OCCUR ACROSS CENTRAL OR SOUTHERN KANSAS AHEAD OF THIS COMPLEX. THIS WOULD INCREASE THE SEVERITY OF THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...WITH DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 70 MPH AND QUARTER SIZE HAIL POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR AREAS MAINLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 35 AND 135 FRIDAY NIGHT...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS COULD AFFECT THE AREA AGAIN FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN KANSAS TODAY. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP CJ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was reported over a portion of Highway 81 south of Wellington. Other roads across central portions of the county were also reported to be submerged. Damage estimates are unknown, but are likely minimal.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, July 2009
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: 187438.