High based thunderstorms developed rapidly across Stanton county and two landspouts were reported.
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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.
High based thunderstorms developed rapidly across Stanton county and two landspouts were reported.
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 20, 2:58 PM CST, 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 358 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 ...UPDATED LONG TERM DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 346 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 AN UPPER LEVEL COLD POOL WAS PROGRESSING ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AS A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PROGRESSED ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. EVEN BEHIND THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT, DAYTIME HEATING IS ALLOWING FOR SHOWERS TO DEVELOP WEST OF DODGE CITY TO THE COLORADO BORDER. THERE WERE ONLY A COUPLE OF LIGHTNING STRIKES WITH THIS ACTIVITY. BEING TIED TO DAYTIME HEATING, THIS PRECIPITATION SHOULD DIMINISH AND END THIS EVENING. WITH CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES, TEMPERATURES SHOULD EASILY FALL INTO THE 40S TONIGHT, WITH THE COOLEST READINGS IN THE LOWER 40S IN FAR WESTERN KANSAS. A TRAILING SHORTWAVE TROUGH JUST SOUTHWEST OF THE AFOREMENTIONED TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND MERGE WITH THE SOUTHERN EXTREMITY OF THE LARGER TROUGH ON TUESDAY. 500MB TEMPERATURES WILL NOT BE QUITE AS COLD AND SURFACE DEWPOINTS WILL BE EVEN LOWER, SO ONLY SOME AFTERNOON CUMULUS CLOUDS CAN BE EXPECTED. HIGH TEMPERATURES SHOULD REACH THE MID TO UPPER 70S BASED ON THE NAM AND ECMWF. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 357 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WAS SITUATED OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS WITH A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WAS ROTATING AROUND THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF THE UPPER LOW OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. THE UPPER LOW IS FORECAST TO SLOWLY MOVE INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST THROUGH MIDWEEK WHILE THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES OUT THROUGH THE TEXAS PANHANDLE INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY. THROUGH THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL BE DIGGING SOUTH ALONG THE WEST COAST OF CANADA INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THROUGH THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK THE MIDWEST LOW IS PROGGED TO PHASE WITH A NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION WHILE UPPER LEVEL RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS. THE MODELS SHOW A SHORTWAVE ROTATING AROUND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LOW WHICH HELPS LIFT IT NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHWEST CANADA BY THIS WEEKEND. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY NOW EXTENDING SOUTH ACROSS THE PLAINS WILL CONTINUE BE TO THE SOUTH OF WESTERN KANSAS THROUGH THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND WILL BE REINFORCED AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SOUTH FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS. FAIRLY QUIET WEATHER ALONG WITH MILD TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK. THERE WILL BE SOME SMALL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS SOME LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BEGINS TO RETURN TO TO THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS. THIS MOISTURE RETURN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK WITH SURFACE DEWPOINTS INCREASING INTO THE 50S AND LOW 60S THROUGH LATE WEEK. LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE FLOW IS EXPECTED OVER SOUTHWEST KANSAS TO THE NORTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTING INTO THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE ROCKIES. THIS PATTERN COULD BE FAVORABLE FOR AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OFF THE FRONT RANGE AND MOVING INTO WESTERN KANSAS THROUGH THE EVENING AND NIGHTTIME HOURS. FOR NOW HAVE LEFT THE ALLBLEND PRECIPITATION FORECAST INTACT FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT WITH CHANCE POPS ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST KANSAS. THE MODELS MOVE A SHORTWAVE TROUGH OUT OF THE ROCKIES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS ON FRIDAY AND FORECAST DETAILS BECOME MORE UNCERTAIN BY THEN. THE GFS CONTINUES TO KEEP SOUTHWEST KANSAS TO THE NORTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHILE THE ECMWF SHOWS INCREASING SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER THE HIGH PLAINS TO THE EAST OF A LEE SIDE TROUGH DEVELOPING OVER EASTERN COLORADO AND A DRYLINE ALONG THE KANSAS/COLORADO BORDER. INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK THE GFS HAS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY LOCATED OVER NEBRASKA WHILE THE ECMWF KEEPS IN TO THE SOUTH OVER THE PANHANDLES. OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHICH ONE WILL BE RIGHT BUT TEND TO LEAN TOWARD THE ECMWF SOLUTION GIVEN THE LOCATION OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1256 PM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 NORTHWESTERLY WINDS AT 10 TO 15 KTS WILL GENERALLLY PERSIST AS A SECONDARY COLD FRONT PASSES THIS EVENING. A FEW SPRINKLES OR SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE WITH DAYTIME HEATING TODAY AND WILL DIE OFF AFTER 00Z. ANY CLOUDS WILL BE AOA080. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 46 78 49 81 / 10 10 10 10 GCK 45 75 47 82 / 10 10 10 10 EHA 43 77 48 84 / 10 10 10 20 LBL 46 79 49 84 / 10 10 10 10 HYS 48 74 48 76 / 10 10 10 10 P28 50 78 52 82 / 20 10 10 10 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...FINCH LONG TERM...GERARD AVIATION...FINCH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 422 AM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-210930- 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- 422 AM CDT MON MAY 20 2013 /322 AM MDT MON MAY 20 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHWEST AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS TODAY. ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS UNLIKELY, DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE WITH ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHWEST KANSAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN KANSAS EACH DAY THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS LOW WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. ALTHOUGH THE DETAILS REMAIN A LITTLE UNCERTAIN, THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER PICKS UP A LITTLE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC 32
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 177 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:52 UTC.
2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
There were two land spouts reported. This one lasted the longest but there was no damage.
There were two land spouts reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2013Warnings in Kansas, May 2013
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: 458104, 458103.