A low pressure system aloft moved across the area during the afternoon hours. At the same time a surface dry line lingered over western Kansas before moving rapidly eastward, followed by a cold front.
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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 GLD wrote it up.
A low pressure system aloft moved across the area during the afternoon hours. At the same time a surface dry line lingered over western Kansas before moving rapidly eastward, followed by a cold front. Strong thunderstorms developed by early afternoon on these surface features. In eastern Colorado, several severe hail reports were received during the late afternoon. In western Kansas, numerous tornadoes developed along the dry line just after noon, with one destroying a small shed.
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 10, 5:51 AM CST, 6 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 551 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 .DISCUSSION... 251 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS FORECAST PROBLEMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SATELLITE SHOWING A MORE AMPLIFIED FLOW DEVELOPING FROM THE CENTRAL PACIFIC TO NEAR THE WEST COAST. THIS TRANSITIONS TO A MORE PROGRESSIVE FLOW OVER THE COUNTRY. OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST... SHORTWAVE TROUGH THAT IS CAUSING THIS INITIAL BOUT OF ACTIVE WEATHER IS MOVING THROUGH THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. STRONG LEE TROUGH USHERING IN PLENTIFUL LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. AT JET LEVEL...THE NAM FOLLOWED BY THE ECMWF HAD THE JET WINDS THE BEST ALONG THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA BUT THE MAIN CORE IS STILL OVER THE OCEAN. THE GFS/UKMET WERE A LITTLE TOO FAR EAST THE HIGHER SPEEDS. AT MID LEVELS...ALL THE MODELS BESIDES THE RUC WERE TOO FAR EAST/NOT FAR ENOUGH SOUTH WITH OUR INCOMING WAVE FOR THE DAY BASED ON SATELLITE. THE RUC AND THE NAM ON THE UPPER AIR ANALYSIS DID THE BEST. AT LOW LEVELS...THE ECMWF WAS DOING THE BEST ON THE SURFACE WIND/PRESSURE FIELD FOLLOWED BY THE NAM. ENOUGH DIFFERENCES IN HOW THE MODELS FOR TODAY IN THEIR HANDLING OF THE SURFACE EVOLUTION THAT THERE IS A HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY. EARLIER THE NAM WAS FURTHER SOUTH THAN ANYONE WHICH MEANT IT KEPT THE STRONGEST WINDS SOUTH OF THE AREA...KEPT THE STRATUS OVER MOST OF THE AREA THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY...AND WAS FURTHER SOUTH AND WEST WITH THE DRY LINE. THE ECWMF DID SUPPORT THIS AND EVENT THE SREF AND OVERALL MODEL CONSENSUS. THE JET POSITION AND WARM AIR ADVECTION PATTER ALOFT SUPPORTED THE FURTHER SOUTH. SURE ENOUGH THE 06Z RUC HAS COME IN AND IS TRENDING TOWARD THE NAM. EARLY ON WILL USE A BLEND OF THE NAM/ECMWF/RUC AND THEN USE A MODEL/PERSISTENCE BLEND AFTER THAT. TODAY/TONIGHT...IF NAM IS RIGHT WILL HAVE MUCH COOLER MAXES THAN CURRENTLY CALLED FOR. HOWEVER...ENOUGH THERE TO START GOING COOLER FOR THE DAY. ALSO LOOK TO HAVE DRIZZLE/FOG THIS MORNING BEFORE THE UPPER DYNAMICS START GETTING THERE ACT TOGETHER. STORMS COULD BE STARTED BY 18Z. ALSO RAISED POPS AS WELL CONSIDERING THERE THE DRY LINE/FRONT IS COMING IN AT. HIGHEST POPS WILL BE WEIGHTED IN THE NORTHEAST. PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE DONE BY 00Z BUT LEFT IN A SLIGHT CHANCE EARLY IN THE EAST TO ACCOUNT FOR ANY SLOWING. TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT...RIDGING AT SURFACE AND ALOFT SHOULD KEEP THE ENTIRE DAY QUIET. NOT SURE HOW MUCH CLOUD COVER WILL BE AROUND BUT UPSLOPE FLOW INCREASES DURING THE DAY. WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW GUIDANCE. MAIN LIFT AND PRECIPITATION REMAINS WEST OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE DAY. BIG DIFFERENCE IN MODEL PRECIPITATION OUTPUT FOR THE NIGHT. INITIAL LOOK AT THE MODELS WOULD SAY WE ARE GOING TO BE DRY SLOTTED. HOWEVER...IT LOOKS AS IF A MAJOR WARM AIR ADVECTION DEVELOPS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE NIGHT. THE GFS AND ESPECIALLY SHOW THIS WELL ON THE 305 SURFACE. WILL UP THE POPS OVER MOST OF THE AREA. WEDNESDAY/WEDNESDAY NIGHT...LOOKS LIKE THE MAIN LIFT/UPGLIDE IS OVER THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF THE AREA DURING THE MORNING AND WILL WEIGHT THE POPS IN THAT DIRECTION. AREA LOOKS TO BE SOCKED IN WITH STRATUS PRIOR TO THE COLD FRONT ARRIVING. AS A RESULT WILL KEEP THE COOL TEMPERATURES THAT ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST IN PLACE. DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH CLOUD COVER/STRONG THE WINDS ARE...WEDNESDAY NIGHT COULD BE CHILLY/MUCH BELOW NORMAL. WILL TREND THE LOW TEMPERATURES DOWN SOME TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. THANKS TO ALL FOR THE COLLABORATION BULLER && .AVIATION... 546 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 FOR THE 18Z TAFS... AT KGLD...RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON. FOG/STRATUS WILL PERSIST INTO EARLY AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THE DRY LINE...WHICH WILL LIKELY STALL OUT NEAR OR JUST WEST OF KGLD. THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DRY LINE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...AND WITH NORTHEAST STORM MOTION COULD IMPACT THE TERMINAL WITH BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AND PERHAPS HAIL. LATER THIS AFTERNOON...A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH WITH WINDS SHIFTING TO NORTHWEST AND THUNDERSTORMS ENDING. AT KMCK...WILL BE SOCKED IN WITH STRATUS AND FOG THROUGH MOST OF THE AFTERNOON. AS SUCH...THUNDERSTORM CHANCES APPEAR SMALL. COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH LATER THIS AFTERNOON....WITH GRADUALLY IMPROVING CIGS AND VISIBILITY. 024 && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. NE...NONE. CO...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1015 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-111200- YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON- SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA- DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW- 1015 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 /1115 AM CDT MON MAY 10 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ALONG A DRY LINE WHICH WILL BE LOCATED FROM IDALIA COLORADO TO GOODLAND AND RUSSELL SPRINGS KANSAS. ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THOSE AREAS...A FEW SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...INCLUDING SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES. A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ENDING THE THREAT OF STORMS BY MID EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT...FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. AT THIS TIME...NONE OF THESE STORMS IS EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE WITH CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AS THE MAIN THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 024
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1226 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1218 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 15 S LEOTI 38.27N 101.36W
05/10/2010 WICHITA KS TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
50The Goodland radar (KGLD), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:27 UTC.
5 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This tornado developed on the east edge of town on Grand Street and moved northeast. A shed was destroyed, but no injuries were reported.
This tornado lasted approximately ten minutes and remained over open fields with no known damage.
This tornado lasted approximately 5 minutes and remained over open fields with no known damage.
This tornado lasted approximately 4 minutes and traveled northeast, remaining over open fields with no known damage.
This tornado lasted approximately 3 minutes and remained over open fields with no known damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2010Warnings in Kansas, May 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: 220421, 220420, 220426, 220422, 220423, 220424, 220425.