A gustnado underneath very high cloud bases and along the leading edge of strong outflow from a high based shower lasted at least 5 minutes. There were a few reports that this was a tornado but close examination revealed a gustnado.
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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 DDC wrote it up.
A gustnado underneath very high cloud bases and along the leading edge of strong outflow from a high based shower lasted at least 5 minutes. There were a few reports that this was a tornado but close examination revealed a gustnado.
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 May 2, 2:23 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 323 PM CDT SUN MAY 2 2010 .DISCUSSION... DAYS 1-2... COLD UPPER TROUGHING WITH -23C 500MB COLD POOL WAS RESULTING IN AFTERNOON SHOWERS IN CENTRAL AND WESTERN KS WITH DAYTIME HEATING. SFC BASED CAPES WERE VERY LOW, BUT SOME SMALL HAIL AND HIGHER WIND GUSTS CANNOT BE RULED OUT WITH THE STRONGEST CELLS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD DIE OFF LATER THIS EVENING AS THE LOW LEVELS COOL. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL PASS ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS LATE THIS EVENING, USHERING IN EVEN DRIER AIR AT THE SFC. THE MID LEVELS WILL STILL BE FAIRLY COLD (-20C) ON MONDAY, BUT THE DRIER AIRMASS BEHIND THE FRONT SHOULD DISCOURAGE CUMULUS DEVELOPMENT AND SHOWERS. UPPER HEIGHTS WILL RISE DRAMATICALLY BY TUESDAY, WITH WARMING 500MB TEMPS AND DRY AIR AT LOW LEVELS. THIS WILL BE A STABLE ARRANGEMENT, SO CLOUDS SHOULD BE ALMOST COMPLETELY LACKING. DECIDED TO USE THE NAM 21Z 2M TEMPS FOR MAXES THE NEXT 2 DAYS SINCE THE NAM TENDS TO DO WELL IN THESE REGIMES. TEMPS SHOULD WARM NICELY BY TUESDAY AS THE LOW LEVEL FLOW BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY. LOWS SHOULD BE CHILLY TONIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHWEST WHERE LOWER DEWPOINTS AND LIGHTER WINDS WILL EXIST, BUT MILDER BY MONDAY NIGHT AS SW WINDS INCREASE TO 10 KTS. DAYS 3-7... THERE IS CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT SYNOPTIC SCALE DETAILS IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD, ALTHOUGH IT IS QUITE LIKELY THAT THERE WILL BE LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS. TEMPERATURES AND WINDS POSE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY THURSDAY, DUE TO WIDE VARIATIONS IN MODEL SOLUTIONS. TROPICAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS BEEN ON THE INCREASE FROM AFRICA INTO THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN. TEMPERATURES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN ARE WELL ABOVE CLIMATOLOGICAL AVERAGES, AND THE EVOLVING THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER APPEARS LIKELY TO PROPAGATE VERY SLOWLY EASTWARD DURING THE NEXT TEN DAYS. THE WHEELER/HENDON PHASE SPACE DIAGRAM SUGGESTS THAT THE CONVECTIVE CLUSTER DOES PROJECT ONTO A MADDEN JULIAN OSCILLATION, AND PHASE TWO SEEMS TO BE THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE. COMPOSITES BASED ON PHASE TWO SUPPORT A MEAN TROUGH IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES WITH RIDGING ALONG THE GULF COAST AND ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES. AS SUCH, THE DEEPER AND SLOWER SOLUTION OF THE ECMWF AND CANADIAN FOR THE UPPER LEVEL CYCLONE NEAR 55N/150W AS IT DIGS INTO THE WESTERN UNITED STATES THURSDAY SEEMS MORE REASONABLE THAN THE FASTER, LESS AMPLIFIED GFS OPERATIONAL SOLUTION. ABOUT HALF OF THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ALSO SUPPORT A SLOWER, DEEPER SOLUTION. THE 12Z ECMWF IS SLIGHTLY LESS AMPLIFIED THAN THE 00Z RUN AND PROBABLY REPRESENTS A REASONABLE COMPROMISE. THE ECMWF LARGELY WAS USED FOR GRID MODIFICATIONS. THE STRONG, COMPACT UPPER LEVEL CYCLONE EVIDENT ON SATELLITE IMAGERY IN NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA WILL PROPAGATE SLOWLY EASTWARD TO MISSISSIPPI BY TUESDAY EVENING. SURFACE RIDGING BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL RESULT IN OFFSHORE FLOW IN THE WESTERN GULF UNTIL AT LEAST TUESDAY NIGHT. LIMITED LOW LEVEL TRAJECTORIES OVER THE WATER AND SUBSIDENCE UNDER A PERSISTENT UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM CENTERED IN MEXICO WILL PRECLUDE THE RETURN OF RICH TROPICAL MOISTURE TO THE CENTRAL PLAINS IN ADVANCE OF THE THURSDAY UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE EXTREMELY WARM OVER THE SURFACE FRONTAL POSITION AND LIKELY WILL PREVENT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT NEAR THE BOUNDARY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAINFALL WILL BE BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE REGION OF STRONG FRONTOGENESIS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS TUESDAY NIGHT AS A STRONG TROUGH EMBEDDED IN THE JET NEAR 50N/145W RIPPLES ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. LIMITED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND VERY WARM MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES WILL PRECLUDE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH THE FRONT. THE FRONT WILL BECOME STATIONARY ACROSS OKLAHOMA AS CYCLOGENESIS OCCURS IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO IN ADVANCE OF THE DIGGING UPPER LEVEL CYCLONE THURSDAY. AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PROPAGATES EASTWARD THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY, RAIN AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO SPREAD ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTHERN KANSAS. UNSEASONABLY COLD AIR WILL SPILL SOUTHWARD ACROSS KANSAS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY, AND LOWS NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING ARE LIKELY UNDER THE SURFACE ANTICYCLONE SATURDAY MORNING. AN ACTIVE FLOW REGIME WILL CONTINUE NEXT WEEK AS UPPER LEVEL TROUGHS RIPPLE THROUGH THE MEAN LONG WAVE TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. WARMER AIR WILL RETURN TO KANSAS ON SUNDAY WITH THE APPROACH OF THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH, BUT VERY WARM AIR IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY CONFINE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT TO THE EDGE OF THE MID LEVEL CAP WELL TO THE EAST OF WESTERN KANSAS. WIDE TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS WILL OCCUR THROUGH MID MAY AS THE SHARP BAROCLINIC ZONE ACROSS THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES OSCILLATES BACK AND FORTH WITH WAVES RIPPLING THROUGH THE FLOW. CONFIDENCE IN SYNOPTIC SCALE DETAILS IS VERY LOW, BUT THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER STILL APPEARS TO REMAIN SOUTH AND EAST OF WESTERN KANSAS. && .AVIATION...GENERALLY VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH MONDAY, ALTHOUGH LOCAL MVFR CONDITIONS IN THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON. VERY COLD AIR ALOFT WILL SUPPORT CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM EASTERN COLORADO ACROSS NORTHERN KANSAS INTO SOUTHERN NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON, AND THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. A WEAK COLD FRONT THAT EXTENDED FROM NEAR COLORADO SPRINGS TO LEXINGTON, NEBRASKA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WILL ADVANCE SOUTHWARD, AIDED BY THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW, AND SHOULD REACH A LINE FROM NORTHEAST KANSAS TO THE NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE BY MIDNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DIMINISH QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL PREVAIL MONDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 41 71 46 84 / 20 0 0 0 GCK 37 69 45 83 / 30 0 0 0 EHA 39 69 45 86 / 20 0 0 0 LBL 40 71 46 85 / 20 0 0 0 HYS 42 72 47 84 / 30 0 0 0 P28 48 74 50 85 / 20 0 0 0 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && FN24/01
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 441 AM CDT SUN MAY 2 2010 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-031000- TREGO-ELLIS-SCOTT-LANE-NESS-RUSH-HAMILTON-KEARNY-FINNEY-HODGEMAN- PAWNEE-STAFFORD-STANTON-GRANT-HASKELL-GRAY-FORD-EDWARDS-KIOWA- PRATT-MORTON-STEVENS-SEWARD-MEADE-CLARK-COMANCHE-BARBER- 441 AM CDT SUN MAY 2 2010 /341 AM MDT SUN MAY 2 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW RAINSHOWERS OR EVEN AN ISOLATED RUMBLE OF THUNDER WILL DEVELOP DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON NORTHWEST OF A WAKEENEY TO GARDEN CITY TO JOHNSON CITY LINE. THESE SHOWERS WILL THEN SPREAD EAST SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHWEST KANSAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT. ALTHOUGH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...MAINLY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 50. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED BUT A FEW STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. BY LATE WEEK ANOTHER ROUND OF COLD WEATHER WILL TAKE AIM ON SOUTHWEST KANSAS. BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AREAS OF FROST WILL POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
A gustnado or dust devil underneath very high cloud bases and along the leading edge of outflow from a high based shower lasted at least 5 minutes. There were a few reports that this was a tornado but close examination revealed a gustnado or dust devil.
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, 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: 244780.