On the morning of July 13, 2012 scattered thunderstorms formed across northeast Kansas. None of these storms produced any severe weather, except one marginally strong updraft near Blue Rapids, that produced a downburst, and caused some tree limb damage and power outages in Blue Rapids.
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The episode as NWS TOP wrote it up.
On the morning of July 13, 2012 scattered thunderstorms formed across northeast Kansas. None of these storms produced any severe weather, except one marginally strong updraft near Blue Rapids, that produced a downburst, and caused some tree limb damage and power outages in Blue Rapids.
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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 13, 5:52 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 652 AM CDT FRI JUL 13 2012 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... 0Z UPPER AIR DATA HAD A FEW WESTERLY 60-65KT REPORTS AT 250MB IN IDAHO AND WYOMING ROUNDING THE TOP OF THE WESTERN CONUS UPPER RIDGE. NEARBY MID LEVELS REMAIN ON THE COOL AND DAMP SIDE CONSIDERING LOWER LEVEL CONDITIONS OF HIGHS REACHING THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 90S AND DEWPOINTS PRIMARILY IN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE 60S. ISOLATED CONVECTION CONTINUES TO IMPACT EAST CENTRAL KANSAS AT 07Z WHERE MID CLOUD HAS AGAIN PREVAILED THROUGH THE NIGHT. UPSTREAM PRECIPITATION IN NEBRASKA HAS SLOWLY DIMINISHED THOUGH SOME RECENT REDEVELOPMENT IS NOTED IN NORTHEASTERN SECTIONS OF THAT STATE. MODELS CONTINUE TO BE CONSISTENT WITH RESPECTABLE MID-SUMMER UPPER DYNAMICS WORKING THEIR WAY SOUTHEAST INTO EASTERN KANSAS TODAY. ROCKIES UPPER JET TO DIVE SOUTHEAST INTO CENTRAL KANSAS WHILE POTENTIAL VORTICITY ANOMALY REACHES NORTHERN KANSAS BY MIDDAY WITH SOME UPPER LEVEL Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE RESULTING. THESE FEATURES REACH THE 2-4C 700MB DEWPOINTS AND THE BULK OF THE GUIDANCE...INCLUDING THE LAST SEVERAL RUNS OF THE HRRR AND THE 06Z NAM...EXPANDS PRECIP COVERAGE BY 18Z AS A RESULT. STRENGTH OF PRECIPITATION IS SOMEWHAT IN QUESTION AS THE EARLY TIMING OF THE FORCING MAY KEEP STRONG INSOLATION IN CHECK AND MIXED-LAYER CAPE LIMITED. LARGER SCALE FORCING NOT REACHING EAST CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY WOULD SUGGEST THIS AREA COULD HAVE THE GREATER POTENTIAL FOR STRONGER STORMS...BUT THIS WILL DEPEND ON HOW LONG THE ONGOING PRECIP LASTS. HAVE INCREASED POPS WELL ABOVE CLIMO LEVELS BUT HELD OFF ON ANYTHING ABOVE CHANCE GIVEN COVERAGE UNCERTAINTY. TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO A CHALLENGE...AND FIRST PERIOD SREF SPREADS ARE RATHER HIGH. WILL KEEP EASTERN AREAS A FEW DEGREES BELOW THURSDAYS LEVELS WITH AT LEAST MORE CLOUD EXPECTED IN LIGHT SYNOPTIC WINDS. PRECIP CONVERGE SHOULD TAPER FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS THE FORCING MOVES OFF...BUT NOT EXPECTING A LOT OF CHANGE TO PROFILES...SUGGESTING SOME CHANCE FOR ELEVATED CONVECTION COULD LINGER AT LEST INTO THE EVENING. BEYOND TONIGHT...PRECIP CHANCES ARE ON THE LOW SIDE AS THE WESTERN RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE PLAINS. HARD TO COMPLETELY RULE OUT MORE EVENTS OF ISOLATED ACTIVITY...BUT HARD TO JUSTIFY A MENTION AT THIS POINT. CONVERGENCE NEAR A STALLING FRONT IN NEBRASKA APPEARS WEAK AT BEST FOR SATURDAY AND GETTING ANYTHING TO SURVIVE INTO KANSAS IS UNLIKELY. THE GFS ATTEMPTS TO BRING A FRONT SOUTH TO NEAR THE KANSAS BORDER EARLY NEXT WEEK...BUT THE ECMWF KEEPS IT NORTH. MUCH TOO LITTLE CONFIDENCE FOR A MENTION WITH THIS POSSIBILITY AT THIS POINT. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...850MB TEMPS WARM A BIT FURTHER SATURDAY WITH UPPER 90S TO AROUND 100 COMMONPLACE. INCREASED LOW LEVEL SOUTHEAST FLOW MAY TONE DOWN TEMPS SUNDAY...BUT A MORE WESTERLY COMPONENT SHOULD PUSH HIGHS BACK UP TO AROUND 100 FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. HUMIDITIES STILL DONT LOOK TOO BAD...BUT THE APPEARS TO BE SOME POTENTIAL FOR HEAT HEADLINES DUE TO HEATS PERSISTENCE. 65 && .AVIATION... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL PREVAIL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY AS A SHORT WAVE MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTHEAST KANSAS THROUGH THE DAY. AFTER 22Z CONVECTION SHOULD COME TO AN END AS THE FORCING WITH THE WAVE SHIFTS TO THE EAST. MAINLY STAYED WITH VCTS...BUT DID GO WITH A TEMPO FOR TOP BETWEEN 13Z-15Z WITH MVFR VSBYS AND ALSO CIGS WITH HEAVIER RAIN ARE POSSIBLE. VFR EXPECTED OUTSIDE OF THE CONVECTION. 53 && .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 429 AM CDT FRI JUL 13 2012 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-140930- REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY- POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS- WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON- 429 AM CDT FRI JUL 13 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:58 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several one inch tree limbs were down, as well as a 6 to 8 inch diameter tree in Blue Rapids. Power outages were also reported in the city.
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, July 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: 395271.