Thunderstorms developed along a weak cold front during the afternoon. A low pressure center in the Oklahoma panhandle helped lift moist air north interacting with the front.
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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 DDC wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed along a weak cold front during the afternoon. A low pressure center in the Oklahoma panhandle helped lift moist air north interacting with the front. Behind the front upslope flow promoted additional thunderstorm activity.
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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 15, 5:23 PM CST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 623 PM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Sunday) Issued at 413 PM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 Surface analysis showed a weak cold front draped northeast to southwest across the area from near Hays to just west of Dodge City to a weak low pressure center near Guymon this afternoon. A dryline extended from the front just east of Liberal into the Texas Panhandle. Ahead of the front, mid to upper 50s dewpoints were advecting into central and parts of southwest Kansas. Northwest of the front, weak upslope flow was pushing mid 40s to low 50s dewpoints back into far western Kansas and eastern Colorado. The atmosphere continues to destabilize across central and parts of southwest Kansas where mid level lapse rates are aoa 8C/km. Still looking at the potential for isolated to scattered thunderstorms developing later this afternoon, mainly along and east of the front and dryline. The main threats still appear to be large hail on the order of golfball to baseball in the strongest storms. There also continues to be a small tornado threat which will mainly be focused in the area where the frontal boundary and dryline intersects. The timing for the greatest severe threat appears to be from around 5-9pm before storms move east of the Highway 281 corridor. Also of concern is the potential for a few storms to develop over eastern Colorado and move into far western Kansas, apparently due to upslope flow into the higher terrain. A little less confident this will occur but some mesoscale models have been trending in this direction. Visible satellite imagery shows a cumulus field situated along Highway 96 over eastern Colorado so this will have to be watched. The cold front surges southward later this evening and tonight. Models show some postfrontal shower and thunderstorm activity developing late tonight mainly along and north of the Oklahoma border into central Kansas which will linger into Sunday morning before slowly diminishing or moving east. Temperature-wise...no big changes to the forecast tonight. With considerable cloudiness and easterly winds, the going temperature forecast looked a little warm. Leaned toward the coolest MOS guidance around 60-65 but even this may be too warm. .LONG TERM...(Sunday night through Saturday) Issued at 413 PM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 A somewhat active week is ahead for western Kansas. A cool airmass remains over western Kansas along with stratus and fog early Monday. We will see a lingering chance for showers during the day. Depending on how long the clouds hold, temperatures may not get out of the 60s. A warm front will lift back north of the area on Tuesday with warmer temperatures expected. A shortwave trough moves out over the northern and central Plains on Wednesday which will push another cold front, along with a chance for showers and thunderstorms, south across western Kansas. This will be ahead of a stronger upper level system that both the GFS and ECMWF show dropping southeast across the Intermountain West and into the central Plains late in the week. A good chance for showers and thunderstorms will be possible if this model solution holds. Much cooler temperatures will also be possible with highs mainly in the 50s. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Sunday evening) Issued at 617 PM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 VFR conditions will prevail at all TAF sites through late this evening. However, low level stratus is expected to develop along and behind a frontal boundary late tonight as it moves southward into Oklahoma. MVFR cigs will be possible in the vicinity of all TAF sites generally after 09Z. Northeast winds 5 to 15kt will develop through late this evening as the cold front moves through the remainder of southwest and south central Kansas. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 52 61 51 72 / 30 30 20 20 GCK 49 63 50 72 / 20 20 10 20 EHA 49 61 49 75 / 20 20 20 20 LBL 52 62 52 74 / 20 20 20 20 HYS 49 66 49 71 / 20 20 10 10 P28 55 64 55 73 / 50 40 40 30 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...Gerard LONG TERM...Gerard AVIATION...JJohnson
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Dodge City KS 337 AM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-160845- Trego-Ellis-Scott-Lane-Ness-Rush-Hamilton-Kearny-Finney-Hodgeman- Pawnee-Stafford-Stanton-Grant-Haskell-Gray-Ford-Edwards-Kiowa- Pratt-Morton-Stevens-Seward-Meade-Clark-Comanche-Barber- 337 AM CDT Sat Apr 15 2017 /237 AM MDT Sat Apr 15 2017/ This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...south central...southwest and west central Kansas. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Day 1 Discussion Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected across the southeast zones this afternoon and evening, mainly southeast of a Meade-Dodge City-Larned line. Storms that develop in this area will have the potential to produce large hail, up to 2 inches in diameter in the strongest storms. An isolated tornado is possible this afternoon and early evening, south and east of Dodge City, near the Oklahoma border. Additional elevated showers and thunderstorms are expected through tonight. The risk for severe weather is low tonight, but hail is still a possibility with the strongest activity. Day 1 Hazards ------------- * Tornado: Limited risk * Hail: Elevated risk * Thunderstorm wind damage: Elevated risk * Lightning: Elevated risk * Fire weather: Limited risk .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Days 2-7 Discussion Cooler temperatures are expected Sunday, which will reduce the threat of severe weather. A few strong storms will remain possible across the far SE zones (near Barber county). Thunderstorms will remain possible Monday, before dry weather returns Tuesday. Thunderstorms will be limited to the NE zones Wednesday. A strong storm system is expected to spread rain and thunderstorms into SW Kansas Thursday night through Friday night, with significant rainfall possible. Days 2-7 Hazards ---------------- * Sunday - Lightning: Limited risk - Severe thunderstorm: Limited risk * Monday - Lightning: Limited risk * Tuesday - No Hazards. * Wednesday - Lightning: Limited risk * Thursday - Lightning: Elevated risk * Friday - Lightning: Elevated risk .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be required southeast of a Meade- Dodge City-Larned line this afternoon and evening. && For more details visit our webpage http://weather.gov/ddc/ehwo Turner
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:39 UTC.
13 hail, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
This landspout did not damage anything.
Water was reported over several county roads.
Landspout observed but did not do any damage.
The hail was quarter to half dollar sized.
Water was across many county roads and even across parts of US 50 in Macksville. Many ditches were full of water. Also, Rattlesnake creek had risen 6 to 8 inches in a matter of hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2017Warnings in Kansas, April 2017
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: 699513, 697272, 699510, 697274, 697275, 697276, 697277, 697278, 697279, 697280, 697281, 697282, 697283, 697284, 697285, 697286, 697273.