During the day of the 22nd a warm air mass was in place as thunderstorms developed in a weakly capped environment. As thunderstorms formed a few managed to produce severe downburst.
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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 TOP wrote it up.
During the day of the 22nd a warm air mass was in place as thunderstorms developed in a weakly capped environment. As thunderstorms formed a few managed to produce severe downburst.
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 Aug 22, 5:35 AM CST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 635 AM CDT Fri Aug 22 2014 .UPDATE... Issued at 635 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 Isolated thunderstorms have developed in the low level jet on the edge of the moisture plume. Have updated forecast to reflect this through mid morning. Cloud debris should clear off by late morning allowing for good isolation. && ...Update to aviation forecast discussion... .SHORT TERM...(Today and Tonight) Issued at 357 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 Decaying thunderstorms near the Nebraska border early this morning were moving northeast into southeast Nebraska. VAD profiler winds along with satellite show presence of a weak MCV moving along the Nebraska border at 09Z. Outflow boundary from earlier convection has washed out and dew points have recovered back into the lower 70s in north central Kansas. Main concern for today will again be temperatures along with the humidity producing heat indices this afternoon around 105 degrees across the CWA. Highs will be similar to yesterday and perhaps a degree warmer in the 95 to 100 degree range. Thermal axis on all models extends from southwest to northeast across Kansas and soundings show mixing down from around 700 mb. Will be issuing a heat advisory beginning at 1 pm today. Forecast soundings near the Nebraska border show cap eroding by late afternoon along with SBCAPE around 3000 J/kg. Bulk shear around 20-25 kts decreases through the evening hours. A few storms may become severe with wind and hail the main hazards. A warm front is progged to be in southern Nebraska and may focus isolated to scattered thunderstorms again late this afternoon and evening. A shortwave over New Mexico this morning will move across the Western High Plains this afternoon then continue northward into the Dakotas tonight. With ridge holding in place across eastern Kansas most of this activity should remain to the northwest of the CWA. Lows tonight remain on the warm side with low to mid 70s once again. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 357 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 Good model agreement with much drier low/mid level air coming north around the ridge into eastern Kansas Saturday (700mb dewpoints 0 to -10C, 850mb dewpoints 5 to 10C). This should spell very good insolation and similar mixing from recent days to bring air temps back to around 100F. Dewpoints also fall off but will still likely support apparent temps in the 100 to 105 range. Given this will be the third to fifth day of feels-like temps at to above these levels, such prolonged heat rather rare this summer, and weekend activities, will keep today's advisory going into Saturday. By Sunday afternoon, models begin to diverge in where the front will be, owing to differences in how the Northern Rockies wave will behave. Deep layer moisture picks back up again and will support small precipitation chances for northern and western areas by late afternoon where the front is more likely to be. With uncertainty on the boundary, have less confidence in where temps will end up so have not spread the Heat Advisory this far. After Sunday night, front should steadily mix back northwest into Monday night as the northern CONUS wave moves on northeast. This may bring heat back into mainly East Central Kansas and at least minor concern for and Advisory to be needed into the early work week. There continues to be much trouble in handling the next upper wave and its interaction with the persistent southern CONUS ridge. The 0Z ECMWF has now sided away from its 12Z run and the 0Z GFS and is much slower with this wave pushing into the region. Have kept precipitation chances somewhat reduced but still present through mainly Tuesday night into Wednesday. The late summer heat should subside by the middle of the week. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFs through 12Z Saturday Morning) Issued at 635 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 Isolated to scattered TSRA will affect the terminals through 15Z this morning. Have included VCTS til 15Z especially MHK. Expect VFR outside of any convection through the period. Additional isolated TSRA will be possible after 01Z but confidence in timing and placement preclude including TSRA for now. && .CLIMATE... Issued at 357 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 The record highest minimum temperature is being threatened again today at Topeka. The current record for August 22 is 80, set in 2000. The temperatures at Concordia has already fallen below its record of 78. && .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HEAT ADVISORY from Noon today to 8 PM CDT Saturday FOR KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059. && UPDATE...53 SHORT TERM...53 LONG TERM...65 AVIATION...53 CLIMATE...65
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 559 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-231100- REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY- POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS- WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON- 559 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HEAT INDICES WILL TOP OUT FROM 103 TO 108 THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS EARLY THIS MORNING. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN TO NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS BY THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS...SPREAD INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS IN THE LATE AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE IN THESE AREAS THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT COULD BE SEVERE AND PRODUCE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF HALF DOLLARS AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES SATURDAY SHOULD PEAK FROM 100 TO 104. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS SATURDAY NIGHT...IN MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS SUNDAY...FOR NEARLY THE ENTIRE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT...ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...AND FOR THE ENTIRE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:32 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tree limbs up to 2 inch in diameter down out of a 3-year old maple. Brief gusty winds around 50 to 60 mph.
Wind gusts measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, August 2014
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: 532112, 532113.