During the late afternoon and early evening a couple severe thunderstorms developed and moved across West Central Kansas. 25 inches in diameter was reported south of Leoti.
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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 GLD wrote it up.
During the late afternoon and early evening a couple severe thunderstorms developed and moved across West Central Kansas. Large hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter was reported south of Leoti.
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 Sep 23, 2:39 PM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 239 PM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 238 PM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 LATEST SATELLITE AND UPPER AIR ANALYSIS INDICATE A CLOSED UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS. EXTENDING SOUTH FROM THE UPPER LEVEL LOW IS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS. AT THE SURFACE A TROUGH WAS MOVING EASTWARD. ALONG THE TROUGH AND UNDER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS SOME SHOWERS WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES. THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON EXPECT THE SURFACE TROUGH TO CONTINUE MOVING EASTWARD AHEAD OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS...WITH STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE SURFACE FEATURE. MORE ISOLATED STORMS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND THE SURFACE TROUGH AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS. STORM COVERAGE WILL INCREASE TOWARD LATE AFTERNOON AS THE STORMS MOVE EAST INTO HIGHER INSTABILITY. THIS EVENING STORM COVERAGE WILL REACH A PEAK THEN GRADUALLY DIMINISH AS SURFACE HEATING DISSIPATES. OVERNIGHT KEPT IN SOME VERY LOW CHANCES TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME LINGERING LIFT PRIOR TO THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS MOVING EAST OF THE AREA. MEANWHILE THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES ROUGHLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE AREA BEFORE WASHING OUT. WEDNESDAY DRY AND SLIGHTLY WARMER CONDITIONS WITH LIGHT WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS. THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE AREA WITH WINDS TURNING TO THE NORTHWEST THEN THE EAST BEHIND IT. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 114 PM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 A SYSTEM DIGGING INTO THE GREAT BASIN WILL CAUSE UPSTREAM RIDGE AMPLIFICATION WHICH WILL BE THE DOMINANT FEATURE AT LEAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. DRY CONDITIONS AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED. THE WESTERN TROUGH WILL BECOME CLOSED LOW AND MAKE ONLY VERY SLOW PROGRESS TOWARDS THE ROCKIES. THE FIRST HINT OF PRECIPITATION CHANCES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SYSTEM DOES NOT ARRIVE UNTIL MONDAY AT THE EARLIEST. BY THAT TIME IT IS WEAKENING AND TRACKING ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. WILL CARRY SOME LOW POPS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD BUT PATTERN DOES NOT LOOK VERY GOOD FOR PRECIPITATION CHANCES. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN A SLOW COOLING TREND OVER THE WEEKEND...REACHING NEAR NORMAL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1151 AM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 VFR CONDITIONS FORECAST FOR THE 18Z TAFS. MAIN ISSUE WILL BE THE TIMING OF THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. ANTICIPATE STORMS TO INITIALLY FORM ALONG A SURFACE TROUGH THAT IS CURRENTLY MOVING IN FROM THE WEST. THE STORMS WILL THEN MOVE EASTWARD. AM THINKING THE COVERAGE WILL BE SPARSE ENOUGH TO NOT NECESSITATE A MENTION IN THE KGLD TAF BUT WILL BE ENOUGH TO MENTION IN THE KMCK TAF. BEHIND THE TROUGH WINDS WILL TURN TO THE WEST TONIGHT THEN THE NORTHWEST WEDNESDAY. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JTL LONG TERM...024 AVIATION...JTL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1030 AM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-241630- YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON- SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA- DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW- 1030 AM MDT TUE SEP 23 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL COLORADO... EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA AND NORTHWEST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EAST OF A TRIBUNE TO COLBY AND MCCOOK LINE. LARGE HAIL UP TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT...ALTHOUGH DAMAGING WINDS CANNOT BE RULED OUT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. ANY SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS BY PHONE OR THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA ARE APPRECIATED. JTL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 419 PM CDT TUE SEP 23 2014 KSZ042-232130- WICHITA KS- 419 PM CDT TUE SEP 23 2014 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN WICHITA COUNTY UNTIL 430 PM CDT... AT 418 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LEOTI...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... LEOTI AND MARIENTHAL. LAT...LON 3846 10152 3856 10113 3831 10113 3830 10151 TIME...MOT...LOC 2118Z 268DEG 15KT 3839 10144 DR
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:49 UTC.
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Lost electricity for a little while. Hail fully covered the ground with mostly smaller hail sizes.
Ground completely covered the ground. Hail damage to gutter. Time estimated by radar.
Mostly pea-sized, but a few stones were quarter sized. Time estimated by radar.
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, September 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: 538838, 538840, 538841.