Thunderstorms developed along a southeast moving surface trough and a few became severe.
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 DDC wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed along a southeast moving surface trough and a few became severe.
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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 2:41 PM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 341 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010 .DISCUSSION... MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL THE BE THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY. SYNOPSIS: A BROAD UPPER RIDGE IS SITUATED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CONUS...WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. A SURFACE TROUGH IS MOVING ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS...WITH THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE CONVERGENCE LINE. TONIGHT: AS THE SURFACE TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTINUE AND BUILD SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING. THE NAM AND GFS GUIDANCE CONTINUE TO SLIDE THE SURFACE TROUGH SOUTHEASTWARD...WITH THE NAM BEING A LITTLE SLOWER THAN THE GFS...AND HAVE TRENDED WITH THE SLIGHTLY QUICKER GFS. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD STAY RELATIVELY BENIGN...BUT A FEW STRONG STORMS COULD BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE STRONG WIND GUSTS. FRIDAY-SUNDAY: THE SURFACE TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA...MAINLY AFFECTING NORTHERN AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. AHEAD OF THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE PRIMED FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF SURFACE CONVERGENCE AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT...SOME OF THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH 2000-3000 J/KG CAPE AND 30-40 KNOTS OF DEEP LAYER SHEAR. MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THE FRONT SHOULD PUSH CLEAR INTO SOUTH INTO NORTHERN OKLAHOMA BY LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...THIS SHOULD DROP TEMPERATURES INTO THE NEAR NORMAL RANGE...TO JUST BELOW NORMAL AND REDUCE THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTING THE AREA FOR THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS. EVEN HAVE TEMPERATURES DROPPING BELOW NORMAL FOR SUNDAY...AS CLOUDY SKIES AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL KEEP MAXIMUM THERMAL HEATING AT BAY. MONDAY-THURSDAY: FOR THE EXTENDED THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL SETTLE OVER THE SOUTHWEST...AS A BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SITS OVER THE NORTHEAST. KANSAS WILL BE IN THE PATH FOR ANY DISTURBANCE THAT WILL MOVE AROUND THE TROUGH...AS WE ARE IN NORTHWEST FLOW...AND WILL BRING MUCH RELIEF TO THE HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS OF THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL...WITH MAXES IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE GREATEST ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BUT COULD CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK...BUT DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY HAVE KEPT WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY DRY. BILLINGS && .AVIATION... A SURFACE TROUGH IS MOVING INTO WESTERN KANSAS...AND WINDS WILL BECOME WESTERLY THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD AS THIS TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE EASTWARD. SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT THE TAF SITES...BUT WITH THE ISOLATED NATURE OF THE STORMS WILL KEEP CB MENTIONED RATHER THAN TSRA AT THIS TIME. BEHIND THE TROUGH...CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED. SCHRECK && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 72 102 66 95 / 20 30 30 30 GCK 67 100 64 94 / 30 30 30 30 EHA 66 101 63 93 / 20 20 30 30 LBL 70 102 66 95 / 20 30 30 30 HYS 69 102 66 93 / 30 40 20 20 P28 77 105 72 99 / 10 30 30 30 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 452 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>065-074>079-084>086-132200- TREGO-ELLIS-SCOTT-LANE-NESS-RUSH-HAMILTON-KEARNY-FINNEY-HODGEMAN- PAWNEE-STANTON-GRANT-HASKELL-GRAY-FORD-EDWARDS-MORTON-STEVENS- SEWARD- 452 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010 /352 PM MDT THU AUG 12 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHERN AND WESTERN KANSAS THIS EVENING WITH THE MAIN THREAT EXPECTED TO BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND STRONG THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN FRIDAY WITH A CHANCE FOR HAIL UP TO QUARTER SIZE, CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL LINGER INTO TUESDAY, MAINLY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...AND GENERALLY ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC KSZ066-080-081-087>090-132200- STAFFORD-KIOWA-PRATT-MEADE-CLARK-COMANCHE-BARBER- 452 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN FRIDAY WITH A CHANCE FOR HAIL UP TO QUARTER SIZE, CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL LINGER INTO TUESDAY, MAINLY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...AND GENERALLY ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
603 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010
KSZ031-122345-
ELLIS-
603 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2010
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN ELLIS COUNTY...
AT 559 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF EMMERAM...MOVING EAST AT 30
MPH.
SMALL HAIL...AND WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
LAT...LON 3913 9902 3891 9903 3891 9937 3913 9937
3914 9903
TIME...MOT...LOC 2303Z 274DEG 24KT 3904 9920
WRIGHTThe Dodge City radar (KDDC), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:09 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 75 mph snapped power poles in town.
Rainfall of 2.00 was reported.
Lightning set a couple of hay bales on fire.
Multiple power poles were snapped off at the base. An 18 inch diameter cedar tree was blown over onto a house. Several utility sheds were blown apart.
A wind gust to 60 mph was estimated.
A gust to 60 mph was estimated. A few one inch diameter tree branches were broken by the strong wind.
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, August 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: 259115, 259121, 259116, 259117, 259118, 259119, 259120.