Thunderstorms developed over Rawlins and Decatur counties during the afternoon and moved southeast. Several reports of severe wind and hail were received, in addition to reports of heavy rainfall.
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 GLD wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed over Rawlins and Decatur counties during the afternoon and moved southeast. Several reports of severe wind and hail were received, in addition to reports of heavy rainfall. No flooding was reported, but precipitation totals for the 24-hour period ranged from 2.50 to 5.50.
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 Aug 23, 2:18 PM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 218 PM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 .SHORT TERM...(LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 1240 PM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 MOST PRESSING CONCERN FOR THE PERIOD WILL BE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL AS MORNING RAOBS INDICATED STEEP LAPSE RATES IN PLACE FROM H8 TO H5 AND PRECIPITABLE WATERS AROUND 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL. CLOUD COVER ASSOCIATED WITH SHOWERS AND WEAK VORTICITY MAXIMUM HAVE HELD DOWN TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA...ALTHOUGH LATEST MESOANALYSIS INDICATES CINH ERODING EVEN WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES. ALTHOUGH SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL SLOWLY APPROACH FROM THE WEST TONIGHT...LARGE SCALE FORCING FOR ASCENT REMAINS FAIRLY UNORGANIZED AND THINK FOR THE MOST PART...WHICH KEEPS OVERALL CONFIDENCE LOWER THAN WHAT STATISTICAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS GIVEN PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY BE DRIVEN BY PROPAGATION OF DEVELOPING MCS THAN ANY LARGE SCALE/FRONTAL FEATURE. IN GENERAL...EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO INITIATE ALONG TROUGH AXIS STRETCHING FROM ROUGHLY TRIBUNE TO MCCOOK BY 22Z WITH PRECIPITATION GRADUALLY MOVING TO THE SOUTH INTO ELEVATED THETA-E/INSTABILITY AXIS THROUGH THE NIGHT. WITH DEEP WARM LAYER...SLOW STORM MOTIONS AND HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATERS...HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO BE A THREAT WITH ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOPED. GIVEN STRONG HORIZONTAL SHEAR ACROSS TROUGH...STORM MOTIONS ALONG SFC TROUGH...AND DECENT LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY WOULD NOT BE SHOCKED TO SEE A PERIOD WHERE A LANDSPOUT OR TWO ARE DEVELOP ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERN CWA. FOR THE TIME BEING...THINK 30-60 POPS APPEAR REASONABLE FOR THE TIME BEING BUT WILL REFINE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AS CONVECTIVE INITIATION BECOMES MORE APPARENT. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 216 PM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 OVERNIGHT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD COME TO AN END IN THE SOUTH AND EAST BY EARLY MORNING WITH A LULL IN ACTIVITY THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. NEXT MID LEVEL VORT MAX APPROACHES WESTERN PARTS OF THE CWA FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WHILE THERE IS THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL ACROSS THE CWA...THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE TIED TO BAROCLINIC ZONE ACROSS THE SOUTH AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE CWA. BEST FORCING LOOKS TO BE OUTSIDE OF THE CWA...SO I KEPT POPS LIMITED TO 20/30 RANGE FOR NOW. BAROCLINIC ZONE...ALONG WITH GOOD MOISTURE/INSTABILITY...LINGERS ACROSS THE SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY EVENING. LARGE SCALE FORCING SHOULD BE EAST OF THE CWA THROUGH SATURDAY...SO I KEPT POPS LIMITED TO SLIGHT CHANCE...ENDING BY EARLY SATURDAY EVENING. PATCH FOG WILL ALSO BE A POSSIBILITY IN THE EAST FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING WITH ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND LIGHT/VARIABLE WINDS. H5 RIDGE BUILDS BACK ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST SUNDAY AND THEN SHIFTS NORTH AND EAST...STRENGTHENING OVER THE HIGH PLAINS THROUGH NEXT WEEK. RESULT WILL BE A RETURN TO PERSISTENT DRY CONDITIONS AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. HOTTEST DAYS APPEAR TO BE NEXT TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WHERE ADVERTISED 29-30C H85 TEMPS COULD SUPPORT TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL PAST MODELS RUNS INDICATING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH BRINGING PRECIP CHANCE BACK TO THE CWA BY NEXT THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THERE IS VERY LITTLE RUN-RUN CONSISTENCY BETWEEN MODELS...AND LATEST TREND HAS BEEN FOR RIDGE REMAINING IN PLACE SO I KEPT SILENT POPS IN PLACE FOR NOW. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1240 PM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP ALONG A TROUGH AXIS NEAR A CHEYENNE WELLS TO GOODLAND TO MCCOOK LINE THIS AFTERNOON AND GRADUALLY MOVE TO THE SOUTH THROUGH THE NIGHT. GIVEN MOIST CONDITIONS AND SLOW STORM MOVEMENT...EXPECT REDUCED FLIGHT CATEGORIES DOWN TO IFR VALUES SHOULD THUNDERSTORMS IMPACT A TERMINAL LOCATION. AS THUNDERSTORMS COME TO AN END TONIGHT...MOISTURE PROFILES APPEAR SUFFICIENTLY DEEP TO ALLOW FOG/LOW STRATUS FORMATION SHOULD SKIES CLEAR FOR A PERIOD. MOST LIKELY TIME PERIOD FOR BOTH SITES WILL BE BTNW 10 AND 15Z. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JRM LONG TERM...DR AVIATION...JRM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1038 AM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-241615- YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON- SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA- DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW- 1038 AM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 /1138 AM CDT THU AUG 23 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF THIS AREA MAINLY AFTER 2 PM MDT (3 PM CDT) WITH THE BEST CHANCES ALONG AND EAST OF A CHEYENNE WELLS TO TRENTON LINE. A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WITH DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. A BRIEF TORNADO WILL BE POSSIBLE AS STORMS BEGIN TO DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON...WITH THE THREAT DIMINISHING IN THE EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER... LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE AFTER 2 PM MDT (3 PM CDT) JRM
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 354 PM MDT THU AUG 23 2012 KSZ002-003-232215- DECATUR-RAWLINS- 454 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2012 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR RAWLINS COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS AND DECATUR COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS... AT 452 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ATWOOD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...WINDS TO 50 MPH...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THESE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE. && LAT...LON 3991 10085 3972 10061 3959 10088 3971 10104 TIME...MOT...LOC 2153Z 225DEG 14KT 3970 10090 LUNDQUIST
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
516 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2012
KSZ002-232240-
RAWLINS-
516 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2012
...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR RAWLINS COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...
AT 511 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ATWOOD...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 5 MPH.
PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND WINDS TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
&&
LAT...LON 3976 10074 3972 10074 3959 10088 3968 10107
3984 10092
TIME...MOT...LOC 2216Z 221DEG 3KT 3970 10090
LUNDQUISTSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 532 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2012 KSZ004-232250- NORTON- 532 PM CDT THU AUG 23 2012 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS... AT 529 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR REAGER...THAT IS NEARLY STATIONARY. HEAVY RAINFALL IS OCCURRING...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE A VEHICLE ON A FLOODED ROADWAY. && LAT...LON 3977 9992 3978 10018 3993 10018 3992 9993 TIME...MOT...LOC 2230Z 260DEG 3KT 3984 10010 LUNDQUIST
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:43 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter estimated peak winds to be near 60 mph. Precipitation totaled 2.30 inches in about 50 minutes ending at 610 pm CDT..
Resident estimated golf ball sized hail 7 miles east of Hoxie at his location. Time estimated from Doppler radar.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, August 2012
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: 396912, 396914, 396913.