Very strong southerly winds developed during the mid to late evening hours of the 29th across portions of mainly Central Kansas. Sustained speeds around 40 mph were common, with localized gusts of 50 to 63 mph.
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 episode as NWS ICT wrote it up.
Very strong southerly winds developed during the mid to late evening hours of the 29th across portions of mainly Central Kansas. Sustained speeds around 40 mph were common, with localized gusts of 50 to 63 mph. The unusually strong southerly winds were likely caused by 80 to 100 mph southerly winds (low-level jet) around 2,000 feet above the ground. Increased inflow into strong to severe thunderstorms approaching from the northwest also likely aided the strong winds. The winds subsided some around midnight.
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 Apr 29, 5:50 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 650 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 .AVIATION...00Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU IMMEDIATE FOCUS IS ON SLY WINDS OF 22-30KTS OVER MOST TERMINALS WITH KRSL THE SOLE EXCEPTION DUE NO DOUBT TO CLOSER PROXIMITY TO SE-MOVG COLD FRONT. AT 29/23Z THE COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM NEAR KAUH SW TO BETWEEN KHYS & KRSL TO JUST NW OF KGCK. AS COLD FRONT VENTURES FURTHER SE INTO A MORE MOIST ENVIRONMENT EXPECT TSRA TO INCREASE OVER CNTRL & SC KS WHERE MVFR CIGS & VSBYS ARE LIKELY. LOCALIZED IFR VSBYS ARE POSSIBLE WITH HEAVIEST SHRA WITH GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR SUCH VSBYS OCCURRING OVER KSLN FROM 30/09Z-30/15Z. TSRA NOT EXPECTED TO REACH SC KS TIL ~30/11Z WHEN THE FRONT SHOULD DECELERATE & PERHAPS STALL AS PRIMARY UPR-DECK SHORT WAVE SCOOTS NE TOWARD LAKE SUPERIOR. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 339 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010/ DISCUSSION... MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE STRONG WINDS THROUGH THE NIGHT...AND RAIN/SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TONIGHT-SATURDAY: UPPER LEVEL LOW IS MOVING ACROSS THE ROCKIES TOWARD THE PLAINS...AND STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA. A LINE OF CUMULUS HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH MID-LEVEL FORCING AS WELL AS SOME WEAK SURFACE CONVERGENCE. THE SURFACE FRONT IS STILL BACK ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS...WEST OF HILL CITY AND DODGE CITY. SURFACE WINDS ARE QUITE STRONG ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. NOT VERY CERTAIN AT THIS TIME WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL REMAIN GUSTY ENOUGH TO KEEP A WIND ADVISORY OUT...SO WILL LET THE EVENING SHIFT TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS STILL LOOK LIKE A GOOD BET WITH SUPERCELLS LIKELY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE EVENING HOURS. THE FIRST ROUND OF STORMS IS THEN EXPECTED TO MOVE OFF TO THE NORTHEAST...AND ADDITIONAL STORMS COULD DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AND FRIDAY...AFFECTING MORE OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. GOING FORECAST LOOKS GOOD...SO NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MADE FOR THIS PERIOD. SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY: THE LARGE UPPER TROUGH WILL STILL BE SWINGING THROUGH THE REGION INTO MONDAY...KEEPING PERIODIC CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION THROUGH THIS TIME. THEN SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY BUILDS IN FOR TUESDAY BEFORE ANOTHER SURFACE LOW COMES THROUGH. FOR NOW WILL KEEP THE REMAINDER OF THIS PERIOD DRY...BUT PRECIPITATION CHANCES COULD VERY WELL BE NEEDED AS TIME GETS CLOSER. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO GO FROM THE LOWER 70S ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY TO THE UPPER 70S AND LOWER 80S ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE ANY PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANT WINDS ARE ON TAP AT THIS POINT. SCHRECK AVIATION...18Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE GUSTY SOUTH WINDS TODAY...AND T-STORM CHANCES MAINLY IN CENTRAL KS THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT. CNU/HUT/ICT WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS THIS PM/EVE FROM STRONG 850 WINDS AND DECENT PRESSURE GRADIENT. GUSTS OF 35-40 KT POSSIBLE AT THOSE SITES. SCT STRONG T-STORMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS CENTRAL KS THIS EVE IN RESPONSE TO LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND ISENTROPIC LIFT...ALONG WITH LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE BEING DRAWN BACK NWWRD. HAVE INCLUDED A TEMPO TS AT RSL AND SLN FOR MID-LATE EVENING AS A RESULT. CONVECTION CHANCES MUCH LESSER FURTHER SOUTH. JMC && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 70 75 50 64 / 30 20 10 10 HUTCHINSON 59 72 46 66 / 30 20 10 10 NEWTON 68 72 48 62 / 30 20 10 10 ELDORADO 68 75 49 63 / 30 30 10 10 WINFIELD-KWLD 69 77 50 65 / 30 30 10 10 RUSSELL 49 65 38 67 / 30 20 10 10 GREAT BEND 51 67 39 65 / 30 20 10 10 SALINA 53 66 41 68 / 40 20 10 10 MCPHERSON 54 69 45 66 / 30 20 10 10 COFFEYVILLE 67 80 50 73 / 20 50 20 20 CHANUTE 68 79 48 71 / 20 50 20 20 IOLA 70 78 49 70 / 20 50 30 20 PARSONS-KPPF 67 80 50 72 / 20 50 20 20 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR KSZ049>053- 067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 415 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-302115- 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- 415 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT VERY GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING OVER MOST OF THE AREA. SEE THE LATEST WIND ADVISORY FOR DETAILS. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS THIS EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE WITH HAIL TO GOLF BALL SIZE AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THE SEVERE THREAT IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE MAIN SEVERE THREAT AREA IS ROUGHLY NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM HUTCHINSON TO MARION. STORMS WITH SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS MAY DEVELOP LATER IN THE NIGHT OVER THE FLINT HILLS AND SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY STORMS ARE EXPECTED ON FRIDAY...MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS. SOME OF THESE MAY BE SEVERE...BUT THIS IS DEPENDENT ON THE LOCATION OF THE FRONT WHICH WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCED BY THE AMOUNT OF STORMS THURSDAY NIGHT. SLIGHT CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND MAINLY FOR SOUTHEAST KANSAS. STORMS ALONG THE OKLAHOMA BORDER SATURDAY EVENING COULD BE STRONG...WITH HAIL THE PRIMARY THREAT. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. PLEASE MONITOR LATER OUTLOOKS FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM HUTCHINSON TO MARION. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP SCHRECK/JMC/HOWERTON
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
533 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0427 PM HAIL 2 E BARNARD 39.19N 98.01W
04/29/2010 E1.00 INCH LINCOLN KS PUBLIC
&&
SCHRECKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
535 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0426 PM HAIL 2 E BARNARD 39.19N 98.01W
04/29/2010 E0.75 INCH LINCOLN KS PUBLIC
&&
JMBSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 819 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 KSZ032-300145- RUSSELL- 819 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR RUSSELL COUNTY... AT 815 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR RUSSELL...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THESE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE, OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. KLEINSASSER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Measured by the Great Bend Airport AWOS. Measured gusts reached 50 mph.
Measured by AWOS equipment at the McPherson Airport. Measured sustained speeds ranged from 40 to 43 mph, while measured gusts ranged from 49 to 54 mph.
Measured by the Hutchinson Airport ASOS.
Measured by AWOS equipment at the Newton Airport. Gusts ranged from 50 to 60 mph. Some large trees and tree limbs were downed in the Newton area, per the Newton Kansan newspaper.
Measured by KSN WeatherLab equipment in Moundridge.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, April 2010
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: 218456, 218454, 218457, 218455, 218453.