On the evening of May 30, 2016 a few storms formed over far northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri. There was no widespread severe weather, but a few of these storms produced several funnels.
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.
On the evening of May 30, 2016 a few storms formed over far northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri. There was no widespread severe weather, but a few of these storms produced several funnels. One of these storms in in Grundy County produced a couple weak and brief tornadoes that that did not cause any damage.
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 30, 11:42 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 1242 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 .Discussion... Issued at 416 AM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 Today - Wednesday: Not much to hang one's hat on to define where/when convection will form or move in today. A weak and poorly defined warm front extends from central NE through south central IA and northeast MO this morning. Isolated/elevated convection aided by weak isentropic ascent on the 305K surface has sputtered through the night across the far northeastern counties. Think this lift will dissipate by mid morning. Otherwise, think the CWA will be dry until this afternoon. Inspection of local progged soundings reveals a very unstable airmass with the CIN disappearing this afternoon. Short range convective allowing models as well as GFS and NAM paint the picture of hit and miss/pulse type convection. 0-6km shear is very weak so convection will be sub-severe. North TX MCS is heading towards the gulf and 00z/06z models not handling this well which calls into question the vorticity max the GFS and especially the NAM show over OK by 18z. For now will focus on diurnally driven/pulse type convection. High temperatures should be similar to yesterdays. Overnight, convection generated along a weak cold front will likely weaken as it heads towards northwest MO after midnight. This activity could survive the typical morning dissipation phase and sputter around before redeveloping in the afternoon. The precipitation and how much/how long the convective cloud debris linger will determine the degree of instability and later convective potential/coverage. Even if we see moderate instability the severe threat will again be muted by weak 0-6km shear in the 15-20kt range. The cold front wont reach the region until Tuesday night as it awaits the arrival of a moderately strong upstream shortwave. This should ensure likely type PoPs into the evening hours. Wednesday will start the transition to a drier period as the cold front moves into central MO by late morning. Will keep high chance PoPs over the southeast third of the CWA. Thursday - Sunday: A relatively uneventful and quiet period marked initially by drier and more stable air arriving as weak high pressure builds into the region. Temperatures will be near or slightly below seasonal readings. Faster northwest flow aloft resides across the north central and Great Lakes states. Will need to monitor for any buckles in the flow signaling a shortwave dropping southeast. GFS picks up on a feature forcing a cold front through the mid MO River Valley late Saturday whereas the ECMWF does not. Lacking confirmation and with the blended approach only yielding below climatology PoPs will maintain a dry forecast. Do see slightly warmer temperatures and an uptick in humidity with the return of southerly flow. && .Aviation...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday Afternoon) Issued at 1230 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 Thunderstorms are slowly making their way northward into east-central KS and west-central MO early this afternoon. Additional storms are beginning to develop just south of the KC metro area and will continue to lift north as well. Over the next couple of hours, chances for storms to be in the terminals' vicinity will be on the increase and have kept VCTS mention as such. IXD appears likely to be the first one to see storms in the area, by about 19Z, with the best storm chances occurring in the vicinity of the rest of the terminals between 20Z through about 01Z. Will be monitoring to see if AMDs will be necessary to include TSRA but given the loose organization of the storms, didn't have enough confidence to include direct impacts to the terminals at this time. Winds will remain out of the south throughout the TAF period with another round of storms possible later tomorrow, likely beyond this TAF period. && .EAX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... KS...None. MO...None. && Discussion...MJ Aviation...lg
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 445 AM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-310945- 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- 445 AM CDT MON MAY 30 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 ISOLATED TO SCATTERED NON-SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY. A FEW OF THESE MAY BE STRONG. THUNDERSTORM CHANCE CONTINUE WEDNESDAY BUT NO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED. MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AT... HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/EAX/HWO
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 117 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 KSZ057-105-MOZ043-301900- MIAMI KS-JOHNSON KS-CASS MO- 117 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2016 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN JOHNSON... NORTHEASTERN MIAMI AND WESTERN CASS COUNTIES UNTIL 200 PM CDT... AT 116 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER LOUISBURG...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... OVERLAND PARK...OLATHE...LEAWOOD...BELTON...RAYMORE...PAOLA... SPRING HILL...PECULIAR...LOUISBURG...CLEVELAND...FREEMAN... LAKE ANNETTE...WEST LINE...CHILES...BUCYRUS...HILLSDALE...STANLEY... STILLWELL AND WAGSTAFF. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE. THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO 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 3849 9455 3860 9490 3890 9477 3876 9432 TIME...MOT...LOC 1816Z 203DEG 20KT 3862 9468 MELL
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:12 UTC.
2 flash flood, 2 tornado, 1 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Six inches of water was running over Highway W just east of Highway O.
While a few of the storms on May 30 produced several funnels, one storm in Grundy County actually produced a couple very brief and weak tornadoes. This is the first of those two tornadoes. It caused no damage and persisted for about 1 minute.
While a few of the storms on May 30 produced several funnels, one storm in Grundy County actually produced a couple very brief and weak tornadoes. This is the second of those two tornadoes. It caused no damage and persisted for about 1 minute.
Six inches of standing water was reported on local roadways.
In Watson there was water up to the hood of a car. Much of the town was flooded. There was also a partial road collapse on 140th Street near State Highway B after 3 to 5 inches of rain fell over that area. While there was likely some damage to roadways and personal property, it is unknown how much monetary damage was incurred as a result of this flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Missouri, 2016Warnings in Missouri, 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: 638095, 627677, 627678, 638098, 638097, 638096.