Severe thunderstorms broke out across Central Kansas late at night on the 28th then spread across most of South-Central & Southeast Kansas as the night progressed. The severe thunderstorms produced both large hail and damaging winds.
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 ICT wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms broke out across Central Kansas late at night on the 28th then spread across most of South-Central & Southeast Kansas as the night progressed. The severe thunderstorms produced both large hail and damaging winds. The most serious damage occurred in Greenwood County very early in the morning on the 29th when a roof was blown off the hangar at Eureka Airport.
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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 28, 5:23 PM CST, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 623 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 324 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 A challenging forecast in the short term, especially surrounding chances for strong and severe thunderstorms this evening and overnight tonight. Later this evening, a cold front is expected to make its way southeastward across Kansas from western Nebraska/northeast Colorado. Ahead of this front, a strong southerly low-level jet will advect moisture into the region from the Gulf of Mexico, which will promote thunderstorm development given the available instability and daytime heating during the day today. The two main challenges will be the timing and intensity of these storms. Most models all generally show the greatest instability, at least initially, across south central Kansas with MUCAPE in excess of 2000 J/kg in some spots, 40+ kts of bulk shear, and steep mid-level lapse rates of around 8C/km or so. By around 06z, the more favorable parameters shift to central Kansas where impressive frontogenetical forcing is expected along/ahead of the front. Thus, thinking that a bit of initial development is possible in south central/southeast Kansas this evening before a second round of perhaps stronger storms develop along the boundary further north in central Kansas. Environmental conditions continue to favor more of a hail and wind threat in the stronger/severe storms that do develop, though an isolated tornado cannot be completely ruled out given the abundance of low-level helicity but fairly high forecast LCL heights. Localized flooding could also be a concern. Forecast precipitable water values around 1.4in are well above climo, so storms are likely to dump very heavy rainfall. Have held off on a flood watch for now, but certainly flooding could be possible in low-lying and flood prone areas. Once the front makes it through much of the area overnight, it is then expected to stall as it stretches across Missouri, far southeast Kansas, and central Oklahoma. Overrunning moisture will continue to support lingering showers and storms across southeast Kansas during the day on tomorrow and then become more widespread across the CWA tomorrow evening-overnight. Fairly challenging temperature forecast for tomorrow as well. Most guidance is quite a bit warmer than the going forecast but still think the limiting factor will be the extent of cloud cover and northerly flow over the area. Therefore, despite some small tweaks, have kept most of the temps in tact for tomorrow in favor of the cooler/more extensive cloud cover scenario. By Tuesday, a mid/upper shortwave will quickly race across the state, continuing shower/storm chances that could bring more rounds of heavy rain to southeast Kansas. Strong to severe storms will be possible during the afternoon/evening hours both days, with the greatest severe weather threat in south central Kansas on Monday and southeast Kansas on Tuesday. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Sunday) Issued at 324 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 By the middle of the week, the weather will remain unsettled with continued chances for showers and thunderstorms Wednesday-early Thursday morning. At this time, severe weather does not appear likely in favor of more marginal thunderstorms and showers. Temperatures will remain slightly below normal throughout the week this week, rebounding back into the low 70s by Friday. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday evening) Issued at 619 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 TSRA to impact the area through the overnight hours. Clusters of TSRA developing over western Kansas will continue to push east this evening/overnight, potentially impacting a large portion of our forecast area. Hail up to golfball size, wind gusts of 55kt+, and possibly even a tornado will be possible. Any terminal impacted by a TSRA will also see MVFR or lower VIS. In the wake of the storms, a wind shift to the north is expected, with lingering MVFR/low VFR CIGs likely. Of note, too, for several hours this evening, an increasing low-level jet will lead to LLWS conditions, especially south-central through southeast Kansas. Martin && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Wichita-KICT 58 64 52 68 / 40 20 70 80 Hutchinson 53 63 48 64 / 60 10 60 80 Newton 56 63 48 63 / 50 20 60 80 ElDorado 59 65 52 67 / 50 30 70 80 Winfield-KWLD 62 68 56 70 / 30 30 70 80 Russell 47 61 43 58 / 70 10 60 70 Great Bend 48 62 44 59 / 60 10 60 70 Salina 51 63 46 60 / 80 10 60 80 McPherson 52 63 47 62 / 70 10 60 80 Coffeyville 63 73 60 73 / 30 40 60 80 Chanute 61 69 57 72 / 60 40 70 80 Iola 61 68 57 71 / 70 40 70 80 Parsons-KPPF 62 72 59 73 / 40 40 60 80 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...TAV LONG TERM...TAV AVIATION...RM
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wichita KS 957 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-300300- Russell-Lincoln-Barton-Ellsworth-Saline-Rice-McPherson-Marion-Chase- Reno-Harvey-Butler-Greenwood-Woodson-Allen-Kingman-Sedgwick-Harper- Sumner-Cowley-Elk-Wilson-Neosho-Chautauqua-Montgomery-Labette- 957 PM CDT Sun Apr 28 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas, South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight A cluster of thunderstorms will push east southeast across portions of central and south-central Kansas through the overnight hours. The primary threats will be wind gusts of 60-70 mph, hail up to golfball size, and heavy rain. A low-end tornado threat may exist, especially across south-central Kansas. Severe Thunderstorm Watch 109 is in effect for this area. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are in the forecast from Monday afternoon through Thursday morning. A few severe storms with quarter sized hail and 60mph wind gusts will be possible in south central Kansas on Monday and in southeast Kansas on Tuesday. Flooding will also be a concern through the first half of the week, as very heavy rainfall is expected in these storms. Wednesday into Thursday, showers and thunderstorms will be lighter. Some of these storms could be locally strong with small hail and winds up to 50 mph possible. An isolated severe thunderstorm cannot be ruled out. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is likely tonight, especially in central and south central Kansas. && For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at: http://weather.gov/wichita/hwo/
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:50 UTC.
11 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The hail occurred at the West Highway 56/SW 40th avenue intersection.
The hail occurred on the west side of town.
The gust was measured at the Great Bend Airport.
The gust was measured at the Great Bend Airport and was an increase of 6 knots in one minute.
The hail occurred at the intersection of SE 50th Rd & SE 60th Ave.
The hail occurred in the 900 Block of East Barton County Rd.
The hail occurred on the west side of town. The report was received via social media.
The report was received via social media.
No damage was reported.
The hail size ranged from 3/4 to 1 inch.
The roof was blown off a hangar at Eureka Airport per social media photo. At the time of the incident, the Eureka (K13K) AWOS measured a 46-knot gust, but it is unknown whether or not this was the peak gust. Considering the magnitude of the damage, it's doubtful that it was. The time of the event was estimated from the METAR observation. An event that occurred 3 miles NNE Eureka measured a 60-knot gust. Therefore, the gust for this event is estimated at 61 knots (70 mph).
Power lines were blown down at this location.
There were multiple media reports of a 21-car train derailment. There were no reports of injuries or whether or not any of the cars were transporting hazardous materials.
This was a delayed report.
The severe thunderstorm winds downed an unspecified number of power poles on county roads north of Eureka that no doubt caused power outages. As such, no damage estimate can be provided.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, April 2019
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: 820670, 820671, 820673, 820674, 820672, 820676, 820677, 820678, 820679, 820680, 820681, 820682, 820683, 820684, 820685, 820686, 820687, 820688, 820689.