A few clusters of pulse-type strong to severe thunderstorms affected south-central Kansas during the evening hours on the 23rd. Wind gusts up to 70 mph were reported across portions of Kingman County, producing localized damage.
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 ICT wrote it up.
A few clusters of pulse-type strong to severe thunderstorms affected south-central Kansas during the evening hours on the 23rd. Wind gusts up to 70 mph were reported across portions of Kingman County, producing localized damage.
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 23, 4:54 PM CST, 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 554 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011 .AVIATION...00Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTHWEST THROUGH CENTRAL/NORTHEAST KS CORRELATE WELL WITH THE 700 MB THETA-E AXIS. THIS ACTIVITY LIKELY TO CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS GIVEN REDEVELOPMENT OF 30-35 KT SOUTHERLY LOW-LEVEL JET. HAVE UTILIZED VCTS AT RSL/SLN/HUT THIS EVENING. ICT MORE TRICKY CALL ON TS GIVEN ITS ON EASTERN EDGE OF MID-LEVEL MOIST AXIS. ON SUNDAY...A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL KS IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS. MOISTURE POOLING ALONG/N OF THE BOUNDARY COULD SET OFF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE PM...WHICH COULD PROPAGATE SEWD DURING THE EVENING HOURS. VFR EXPECTED AWAY FROM STORM ACTIVITY. JMC && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 339 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011/ DISCUSSION... TONIGHT: GIVEN LITTLE IF ANY CHANGES IN AIRMASS...ANTICIPATE SIMILAR WEATHER TO LAST EVENING WITH ISOLATED/SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ON WESTERN EDGE OF FORECAST AREA. QUESTION IS WHETHER THE PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE ALL NIGHT. BASED ON TRENDS...AM NOT THAT OPTIMISTIC...ALTHOUGH CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE PREDAWN HOURS. SUN-SUN NIGHT: THE BIGGEST ISSUE OF ENTIRE FORECAST IS LOCATION OF EFFECTIVE BOUNDARY DURING THE DAY. CONVECTIVE COVERAGE/TEMPERATURES AND HEAT HEADLINES ARE ALL CONTINGENT ON THIS LOCATION. GIVEN THE CONVECTIVE BULLSEYES IN THE 1200 UTC NAM/GFS SOLUTIONS...AM MORE INCLINED TO SIDE WITH THE 0000 UTC 20KM WRF-ARW RUN. IT HAD REASONABLE CONVECTION SAT NIGHT AND BREAKS STORMS OUT DURING THE AFTERNOON ROUGHLY ALONG A LINE FROM JUST SOUTH OF MKC-DDC. SURFACE POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE PROGS SUGGEST ACTUAL FRONT MAY ONLY BACKDOOR INTO NE BORDER OF FORECAST AREA SUN NIGHT...ALTHOUGH OUTFLOW/WIND SHIFT WILL LIKELY WORK INTO SOUTH CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST KS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD SOAR AHEAD OF BOUNDARY...AND UNLESS CONVECTIVE DEBRIS IS MUCH MORE WIDESPREAD THAN ANTICIPATED...SHOULD SEE TEMPERATURES SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS DAYS ACROSS AT LEAST SOUTHERN HALF OF AREA. NORTHERN HALF IS A BIT MORE PROBLEMATIC GIVEN HEADLINES IN PLACE. DEWPOINTS WOULD LIKELY POOL NEAR BOUNDARY...SO HEAT INDICES COULD STILL RUN HIGH NEAR/JUST NORTH OF FRONT. MON: DANGEROUS HEAT INDICES APPEAR LIKELY...ESPECIALLY ALONG OKLAHOMA BORDER AND IN SE KS. VALUES COULD REACH 110 ACROSS MONTGOMERY/ LABETTE COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS. PLANNED TO EXTEND EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT ACROSS MOST OF S CENTRAL AND ALL OF SE KS...BUT CONSENSUS WAS TO HOLD OFF DUE TO POTENTIAL FOR OUTFLOW/CONVECTIVE DEBRIS FROM SUN NIGHT. DESPITE HEADLINE...PLAN TO HIT THIS HARD IN HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. NOT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PRECIPITATION ON MON...ALTHOUGH A LATE DAY/EVENING STORM CANNOT BE RULED OUT. MUCH IS DEPENDENT ON WHAT HAPPENS SUN. TUE-SAT: LATEST RUNS OF MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOW LITTLE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS RUNS WITH LONG WAVE PATTERN THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD. WOULD APPEAR THAT HEAT WILL REMAIN ENTRENCHED FOR MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE WEEK. ONLY MINOR TWEAKS TO GOING TEMPERATURE FORECAST. SOME RELIEF IS POSSIBLE LATE IN THE WEEK AS A FRONT MAY BE CLOSE OR MOVE INTO PARTS OF CENTRAL KS. GIVEN FLOW ALOFT...CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTH ARE SLIM...WITH UPPER HIGH CENTERED OVER FORECAST AREA. WITH AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS EACH DAY OVER MOST LOCATIONS...AND HEADLINES WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED. -HOWERTON AVIATION...18Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU THE MAIN AVIATION FORECAST CONCERN IS THE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND THEN THE TIMING AND PLACEMENT OF THE COOL FRONT FOR SUNDAY. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH MUCH OF THE FORECAST...BUT THERE COULD BE A REDUCTION IN CONDITIONS IF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP. FOR NOW FEEL THE BEST CHANCES FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IS ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS AND HAVE KEPT THE CB MENTION IN FOR KRSL AND KSLN. THE HRRR HAS CONTINUED TO SHOW SOME SCATTERED DEVELOPMENT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS...BUT CONFIDENCE ON THIS OCCURRING IS LOWER. BEYOND THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT...THE TIMING AND PLACEMENT FOR THE COOL FRONT MOVING SOUTH IS THE BIGGEST QUESTION. THE NAM PUSHES IT MUCH FURTHER SOUTH...AND STRUGGLE TO SEE THIS OCCURRING AT THIS TIME. THUS HAVE KEPT THE WIND SHIFT CONFINED TO KRSL AND KSLN WHERE CONFIDENCE IS HIGHEST. HAVE ALSO KEPT OUT ANY MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE OTHER TERMINALS FOR SUNDAY UNTIL THE FRONT/BOUNDARY IS BETTER DEFINED AND UNDERSTOOD. BILLINGS && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 80 103 77 99 / 20 30 20 10 HUTCHINSON 79 102 76 99 / 20 30 30 10 NEWTON 80 102 76 98 / 20 30 30 10 ELDORADO 78 103 75 98 / 10 30 30 10 WINFIELD-KWLD 80 104 78 99 / 10 20 20 10 RUSSELL 75 99 74 98 / 40 20 30 10 GREAT BEND 79 100 75 98 / 30 30 30 10 SALINA 79 100 76 98 / 30 30 30 10 MCPHERSON 78 102 76 98 / 20 30 30 10 COFFEYVILLE 79 104 77 100 / 10 20 20 10 CHANUTE 80 104 76 98 / 10 20 30 10 IOLA 79 105 76 98 / 10 30 30 10 PARSONS-KPPF 78 104 77 99 / 10 20 20 10 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR KSZ032-033- 047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 358 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-242100- 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- 358 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT DANGEROUS HEAT WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE AREA THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...PLEASE CHECK THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR DETAILS. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER ROUGHLY THE SAME AREAS AS YESTERDAY. LOCATIONS NORTH OF A LINE FROM HUTCHINSON TO SALINA WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF STORMS. A COUPLE OF THE STRONGEST STORMS MAY PRODUCE BRIEF DAMAGING WINDS AS THEY COLLAPSE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY. CHECK THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. HEAT INDICES OF 105 TO 110 ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE OKLAHOMA BORDER ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT INDICES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST FRIDAY OVER THE ENTIRE AREA. ADDITIONAL EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS WILL BE NEEDED. THERE ARE SLIGHT CHANCES FOR STORMS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS CENTRAL AND PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. STRONG STORMS ARE LIKELY AND ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE. VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER IS FORECAST SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM GREAT BEND TO WELLINGTON ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT DUE TO THE ISOLATED NATURE OF THE STORMS. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP HOWERTON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 515 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011 KSZ067-082-232245- KINGMAN-RENO- 515 PM CDT SAT JUL 23 2011 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR KINGMAN AND RENO COUNTIES... AT 508 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR PRESTON...OR 16 MILES NORTHEAST OF PRATT THAT WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AROUND 10 MPH. WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE, OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ES
The Wichita radar (KICT), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:33 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A metal building lost about half its roof, and also had the south side of the building pushed in.
Measured at the Kingman Airport.
A road sign as well as a few tree limbs were downed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, July 2011
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: 335873, 335879, 335882.