A few storms passed through eastern Kansas and produced some minor flash flooding.
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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 EAX wrote it up.
A few storms passed through eastern Kansas and produced some minor flash flooding.
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 23, 11:24 AM CST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 1224 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016 .Discussion... Issued at 350 AM CDT MON MAY 23 2016 Messy, convoluted forecast this week with thunderstorm chances in nearly every period, but no clean genesis for these storms with main forcing mechanisms remaining out west. For this morning, the remnants of afternoon convection along the High Plains has morphed into two regions of thunderstorms across central Nebraska and central through southern Oklahoma. The southern of the two complexes has developed into a southward-diving MCS and will not impact the forecast area, while the northern segment is on a slightly more favorable trek toward the far northwest corner of the CWA; however, its outflow boundary has separated well ahead of the convection, and does not bode well for its longevity. High-res models will not let go of the idea that the southern complex will eventually expand northward and connect the two regions of lingering convection, but am a bit concerned about the realism of this north- ward expansion given warming cloud tops across KS and weakening trends of any convection north of the primary MCS, save a few very isolated storms struggling to develop in southeast KS. Isentropic lift does increase over central and eventually eastern KS over the next 3-6 hours and thus will need to monitor this area for any developing accas as an indicator that CI is still possible, but if not, PoPs will need to be significantly reduced today. An ill-timed, compact shortwave trough may slide across the region early this afternoon and allow for some reinvigoration of any weak convection that does make it into the CWA this morning, but if not much is going on at the time it passes over, doesn't seem likely that what little forcing can be derived from this wave will be enough to kick off new convection. The outflow boundary from ongoing storms across Nebraska may park from northern through central KS and serve as a focus for convective initiation this afternoon, which could translate east with time and impact the region late this evening, but could also be hampered by subsidence in the wake of the early-afternoon shortwave trough and a diurnal decrease in surface-based instability as it nears our CWA. After that, it will be another waiting game to see if nocturnal convection can develop and move into our area late tonight into Tuesday morning as another round of isentropic lift develops and slides east. Increasing surface moisture and warm low-level temperatures will create a breeding ground for instability Tuesday through at least Thursday, keeping thunderstorm chances alive through the rest of the work week. The only day that random airmass thunderstorms look possible is Tuesday due to supportive lapse rates aloft and very little, if any, capping. Shear will be weak on Tuesday and should keep wide-spread, organized severe weather chances low despite very high CAPE bordering on the 4000-5000 J/kg range in model-land, but downburst winds or hail from a particularly tall core keeps the severe chances non-zero, especially if storms can initiate in or near the CWA before storms conglomerate. Capping will become an increasing complication Wednesday and Thursday as a surface low finally ejects out of the High Plains and forces the building thermal ridge eastward, but will also push the dryline and potential convective initiation eastward, so the end result will be a toss up -- storms will be altogether less likely, but any storms that do develop have a better potential to become severe due to better shear and a shorter residence time between initiation and the western edge of the CWA. The surface low is then kicked northward by a substantial ejection of shortwave energy out of the upper trough to over the desert Southwest, and separates from the feed of moisture, allowing the dryline to retreat back to the west on Friday. The western longwave trough will also be in transition as this wave departs and the next reinforcing low slides down from the Pacific NW, probably resulting in a bit of a down day for storms and especially severe potential either Friday or Saturday, depending on the timing of all these features. This forecast may repeat in 7ish days when the next trough settles into the southwestern U.S., but for now suffice to say that any decrease in precipitation chances this weekend will be temporary and the pattern will remain active through the foreseeable future. Temperatures throughout the forecast period will depend greatly on the coverage and longevity of nocturnal/morning convection, but have the potential to reach the mid to even upper 80s, especially by Thursday or Friday. Dewpoints will climb into the upper 60s to near 70 by Tuesday and linger there through the end of the work week, and lows will also linger in or slightly above this range. && .Aviation...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday Afternoon) Issued at 1219 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016 Thunderstorm activity will build into the region through much of the afternoon hours today. An outflow boundary to the NW of the terminals will reduce visibilities during the early afternoon, though ceilings should remain VFR during this time and beyond. More stratiform precipitation will then impact the late afternoon. Whether or not this lingers into the evening hours is uncertain, though thinking as of now that we should see a break in the activity beginning this evening and into most of the overnight. By tomorrow morning, thunderstorms look to redevelop. During this time, ceilings could become MVFR or even IFR. This will all depend on how activity trends tonight. Will revisit this scenario for the 00Z forecast. && .EAX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... KS...None. MO...None. && Discussion...Laflin Aviation...Welsh
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 452 AM CDT MON MAY 23 2016 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-241000- 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- 452 AM CDT MON MAY 23 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AS WELL AS EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW ROUNDS OF WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE THIS MORNING AND AGAIN THIS EVENING. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EAX/HWO .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SEVERAL PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TUESDAY THROUGH AT LEAST FRIDAY...AND A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EAX/HWO
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
150 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0142 PM FLASH FLOOD NORTH KANSAS CITY 39.13N 94.56W
05/23/2016 CLAY MO BROADCAST MEDIA
NORTH KANSAS CITY FIRE DEPT ASSISTING STRANDARD MOTORISTS
IN HIGH WATER. RELAYED BY NWS EMPLOYEE.
&&
32PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
210 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0210 PM FLASH FLOOD GLADSTONE 39.20N 94.56W
05/23/2016 CLAY MO TRAINED SPOTTER
ROADS FLOODED THROUGHOUT CITY OF GLADSTONE
&&
32The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:27 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
High water was reported to the office via social media over 81st and Metcalf in Overland Park, Kansas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, May 2016
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: 636219.