Two clusters of thunderstorms developed during the evening hours, one across central Kansas and the other across north-central Kansas. The thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds.
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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.
Two clusters of thunderstorms developed during the evening hours, one across central Kansas and the other across north-central Kansas. The thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds. These storms lingered into the very early morning hours of May 9th.
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 May 8, 5:32 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Topeka KS 632 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 ...Update to aviation forecast discussion... .SHORT TERM...(This Evening through Monday) Issued at 311 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 Persistent showers and thunderstorms continue to move northeast across much of northeast and east central Kansas this afternoon as a lead wave moved northeast into south central Kansas. The convection has also stabilized the atmosphere across northeast Kansas with latest mesoanalysis showing around 500 to 1000 J/kg of CAPE at 19Z. Surface analysis at 19Z places the dryline in southwest Kansas with a surface low in northeast New Mexico. Stronger wave was beginning to exit the base of the upper trough across the Rockies and was moving into western Kansas. Low level jet was backing more to the south this afternoon with the approach of the wave, this will focus best moisture flux into central and eastern Kansas this evening and overnight. Forcing for ascent will continue through the evening across south central into northeast Kansas as left exit region of 110 kt upper jet streak approaches the area. Areas of north central and central Kansas where the atmosphere has not been worked over should have the better chances of severe storms this evening where instability is higher and mid level lapse rates are steeper. Areas further east still have the potential for isolated severe storms this evening and tonight. Also additional storms are likely to develop in the vicinity and north of the warm front near the Nebraska border. Hail and winds will be the main hazards with a few tornadoes possible. Monday the dryline mixes to the east into central Kansas in the afternoon while the upper trough ejects to the northeast across the Central Plains and takes a negative tilt as it does so. Shear is around 25 to 35 kts in the late afternoon hours with around 1200 to 1800 J/kg of mixed layer cape. Forecast soundings showing the EML weakening late in the afternoon and expect storms to fire in the instability axis across the eastern half of the forecast area. Large hail and damaging winds will be the main hazards and tornadoes will also be possible with any supercell storms. .LONG TERM...(Monday Night through Sunday) Issued at 311 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 Monday Night through Wednesday...Upper trough digging SE into the Pacific Northwest this afternoon is forecast to reach the central rockies by 00 UTC Tuesday. Meanwhile, the upper low centered over southern Wyoming this afternoon lifts out reaching the northern plains by 00 UTC Tuesday with a trough extending south through the plains. The upper trough over the central rockies continues to dig southeast into the plains Tuesday and Wednesday. As it does, a surface low should deepen over southeast Colorado by 00 UTC Wed and then track east across Kansas Tuesday night and Wednesday. With respect to the surface low, the 12 UTC GFS looks fast compared to the 12 UTC ECMWF/NAM/Canadian and we based the forecast on the consensus and did not the GFS. As for the sensible weather, will forecast chance of thunderstorms Monday night. Severe weather parameters should decrease by Monday evening with deep layer shear decreasing to less than 30 KTs. On Tuesday, northeast Kansas should be between systems and will forecast dry weather. We are expecting more showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night and Wednesday associated with the second upper trough and surface system. The surface boundary may behave like an inverted trough with much of the precipitation to the west of the trough or post frontal. With this in mind, much of the precipitation on Wednesday should be post frontal with the better chances of severe weather east of the forecast area. Wednesday night through Sunday, upper northwesterly flow will slowly transition into a more zonal flow regime. By Friday afternoon several minor shortwaves translate through the flow, but with moisture still off to the south, perhaps the best chance for any significant rainfall will be late Friday into Saturday morning. The rest of the period suggests considerable variability at this point with only slight chance POPs over the next weekend. Long term guidance in good agreement that moisture will not be plentiful outside of the weak return with a weak wave late Friday previously mentioned. Mainly mid level subsidence and generally stable soundings after this suggest that perhaps some periods of showers but likely mostly cloud cover will be the story with the zonal flow in place suggests that baroclinicity will be at a premium. Meanwhile, high temps and low temps will remain near normal through the period. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday Evening) Issued at 611 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 Areas of scattered TSRA are expected to move in to the TOP and FOE terminals shortly after 00Z. Additional scattered TSRA is expected to develop over central Kansas and move eastward into all terminals between 03Z and 06Z. These storms are forecast to have MVFR conditions with ceilings falling to IFR within the heaviest storms and after the activity passes and stratus deck lowers. IFR persists through mid morning before VFR returns aft 16Z. && .TOP Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && SHORT TERM...53 LONG TERM...Drake/Johnson AVIATION...Prieto
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 341 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-092045- REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY- POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS- WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON- 341 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EAST CENTRAL KANSAS EARLY THIS EVENING THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. MORE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL KANSAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORMS MAY MOVE INTO NORTHEAST IOWA TONIGHT WITH LARGE HAIL AND WINDS THE PRIMARY THREAT. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS IS GREATER WEST OF MANHATTAN. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE CONTINUES TO BE A CHANCE FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN KANSAS ON MONDAY. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND WITH THE SMALL POSSIBILITY OF A FEW TORNADOES. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TOP/SITREP
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
251 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016
KSZ054-082015-
LYON-
251 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN LYON COUNTY UNTIL 315 PM
CDT...
AT 251 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 16
MILES WEST OF MADISON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.
NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM. THIS STORM IS BEING MONITORED FOR A POSSIBLE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
EMPORIA...OLPE...HARTFORD AND NEOSHO RAPIDS.
THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING HIGHWAYS...
INTERSTATE 35 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 128 AND 139.
KANSAS TURNPIKE BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 116 AND 125.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 10 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.
&&
LAT...LON 3817 9636 3831 9636 3850 9612 3835 9595
3827 9595 3817 9614
TIME...MOT...LOC 1951Z 229DEG 42KT 3812 9644
JOHNSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
524 PM CDT SUN MAY 08 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0445 PM HEAVY RAIN OTTAWA 38.62N 95.27W
05/08/2016 E1.80 INCH FRANKLIN KS PUBLIC
AS OF 445 PM CDT.
&&
JBSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
535 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016
KSZ055-082300-
OSAGE-
535 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL OSAGE COUNTY UNTIL 600 PM
CDT...
AT 534 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR
MELVERN LAKE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
OSAGE CITY...OVERBROOK...LYNDON...QUENEMO...MELVERN LAKE AND POMONA LAKE.
LAT...LON 3857 9551 3845 9592 3856 9595 3887 9552
3887 9550
TIME...MOT...LOC 2234Z 229DEG 38KT 3854 9579
BBThe Topeka radar (KTWX), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:59 UTC.
6 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Outbuilding destroyed by thunderstorms winds. Time estimated by radar.
Mostly dime size hail with a few nickel size stones.
Reports of ponding in low lying areas leading to street closures in the Emporia and surrounding areas. Rainfall estimates between 1.5 and 3 inches.
Radar estimated the time of occurrence.
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: 630127, 630128, 630129, 630130, 630131, 630132, 630133, 630134.