A few strong to severe storms moved across northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri during the evening of May 4th. The storms produced localized flash flooding as well as some 1 hail reports.
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 EAX wrote it up.
A few strong to severe storms moved across northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri during the evening of May 4th. The storms produced localized flash flooding as well as some 1 hail reports.
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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 4, 2:28 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 328 PM CDT Mon May 4 2015 .DISCUSSION... Issued at 327 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015 The main concern in the short term will be the potential for severe weather generally along and north of a Olathe to Macon line late this afternoon into tonight. This afternoon a stationary front along an Ottumwa, Iowa to near St Joseph to Concordia, KS. North of the front, across extreme northwest Missouri where showers and cloud cover have plagued the area instability is low. Further south of the front, temperatures are in the upper 70s to lower 80s and MLCAPE values are ranging between 1500-2000J/Kg. However, despite modest instability, forcing and shear are weak. There is still a chance for severe weather with the aforementioned instability and steep low-mid level lapse rates. The main mode of thunderstorm activity would be multicell clusters of thunderstorms with the strongest of storms capable of producing large hail and locally damaging winds. The severe threat should be over by midnight as the instability decreases. As we go through the overnight hours, an upper level trough will move from the southwestern CONUS into the Four Corners area. Height rise are expected across the region out ahead of the upper trough which will help force the stationary front north of the area into southern Iowa. This will leave the local area in the warm sector and dry on Tuesday and we appear to be capped. The only caveat would be the potential of a weak shortwave that models are picking up on which could produce enough forcing for a few thunderstorms during the day. As such, have included slight chance POPs over portions of the CWA if a thunderstorm or two does initiate. Expect highs in the lower 80s. Tuesday night, the aforementioned upper level trough will move fro the Four Corners into the eastern Rockies. A lead shortwave ejecting out from the upper wave will move into eastern Kansas. Convection will develop south and west of the forecast area Tuesday night and move northeastward into the area during the early morning hours on Wednesday. Early morning convection and cloud cover on Wednesday will most likely diminish the severe potential however thunderstorms are expected to continue through the day. Expect highs in the 70s. Thunderstorms potential will continue for much of the extended period as the general pattern chances little over the region. The main feature of interest will be an upper level trough that will be digging down the West Coast on Thursday. This upper trough will move slowly through the southwestern CONUS Friday and Saturday before finally ejecting out into the eastern Rockies on Sunday. This will leave the area in southwestern flow aloft through that period. Several shortwaves will move through the area during that time frame with several round of thunderstorms possible through the period. By Sunday nigh/Monday the upper level trough continues to move into the northern Plains forcing a cold front through the area earlier in the day and things may dry out on Monday. Highs will generally be in the 70s through this period with highs falling into the 60s behind the front on Monday. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday Afternoon) Issued at 1218 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015 Main concern for aviators during this TAF cycle will be the potential for thunderstorm activity at the terminals from late this afternoon into tonight. VFR conds are expected thru the period with sct-bkn mid-lvl clouds this afternoon giving way to a bkn deck around 5kft around 22Z-00Z when thunderstorms move into the terminals. Vis restrictions are not expected with these storms. Storms are expected to cont at the terminals thru 05Z-07Z when thunderstorms will shift north of the terminals however a few could remain in the VC in the terminals until the pre-dawn hours tomorrow. Otrw...expect clouds too sct out around 10kft tomorrow morning. && .EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. MO...NONE. && DISCUSSION...73 AVIATION...73
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 106 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-051815- ATCHISON KS-MIAMI-LINN KS-DONIPHAN-LEAVENWORTH-WYANDOTTE-JOHNSON KS- ATCHISON MO-NODAWAY-WORTH-GENTRY-HARRISON-MERCER-PUTNAM-SCHUYLER- HOLT-ANDREW-DE KALB-DAVIESS-GRUNDY-SULLIVAN-ADAIR-BUCHANAN-CLINTON- CALDWELL-LIVINGSTON-LINN MO-MACON-PLATTE-CLAY-RAY-CARROLL-CHARITON- RANDOLPH-JACKSON-LAFAYETTE-SALINE-HOWARD-CASS-JOHNSON MO-PETTIS- COOPER-BATES-HENRY- 106 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AS WELL AS EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED STORMS ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. A FEW SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHERN MISSOURI AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. WHILE THE THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS IS LOW AT THIS TIME...A FEW STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE. WITH SEVERAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS WEEK...PARTS OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND NORTHEAST KANSAS MAY SEE SEVERAL INCHES OF RAINFALL BY FRIDAY MORNING. MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EAX/HWO
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
416 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015
KSZ025-102-042145-
ATCHISON KS-DONIPHAN KS-
416 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN DONIPHAN AND
NORTHWESTERN ATCHISON COUNTIES UNTIL 445 PM CDT...
AT 412 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM POWHATTAN TO WILLIS
TO MUSCOTAH...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...
EFFINGHAM...DENTON...LANCASTER...HURON...LEONA...FARMINGTON AND
SEVERANCE.
THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...AND A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN
EFFECT FOR THIS AREA. BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV
STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 3966 9556 3966 9534 3986 9535 3987 9534
3972 9520 3951 9529 3951 9557
TIME...MOT...LOC 2116Z 266DEG 26KT 3980 9555 3970 9546
3958 9552
PMM/GITROSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
511 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015
KSZ025-102-MOZ020-028-042245-
ATCHISON KS-BUCHANAN MO-DONIPHAN KS-PLATTE MO-
511 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN PLATTE...
SOUTHWESTERN BUCHANAN...SOUTHEASTERN DONIPHAN AND NORTHEASTERN
ATCHISON COUNTIES UNTIL 545 PM CDT...
AT 509 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM TROY TO RUSHVILLE TO
6 MILES SOUTH OF ATCHISON...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...
BEAN LAKE...DE KALB...IATAN AND FAUCETT.
THIS WILL IMPACT
I-29 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 24 AND 43.
THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...AND A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN
EFFECT FOR THIS AREA. BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV
STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 3970 9479 3956 9479 3943 9479 3951 9523
3966 9515 3978 9519
TIME...MOT...LOC 2210Z 290DEG 24KT 3976 9512 3962 9501
3948 9509
GITRO/PMMThe Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:58 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were blown down around St. Joseph. There were also several power outages reported.
Measured by broadcast media on the east side of St. Joseph.
There numerous roads shutdown within the city due to high flowing water. Several vehicles were also stalled due to the high water.
Fire fighters were dispatched to persons trapped in their vehicle due to high water within the city. The exact location is not known.
A small tree was blow down.
Highway Y was impassible due to high water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, May 2015
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: 577804, 577806, 577797, 577803, 577798, 577805, 577802.