The drought status for August ranged from D1 Moderate Drought to D2 Severe Drought. Precipitation ranged from half an inch to three inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 GLD wrote it up.
The drought status for August ranged from D1 Moderate Drought to D2 Severe Drought. Precipitation ranged from half an inch to three inches. This was two inches below to half an inch above normal.
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 11:15 PM CST, 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 1115 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday night) Issued at 328 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 The primary forecast concern is the continuation of the hazy conditions due to smoke from tonight through Sunday, Sunday night and into Monday morning. The upper ridge continues to amplify over the Rockies and Intermountain region tonight into Sunday before several short wave troughs move slowly through the apex of the upper ridge between Monday and Monday night. At the surface, high pressure over the northern and central plains pushes deeper into the southern plains. Expect any thunderstorms that may develop to stay outside of the forecast area to the west and south in closer proximity to the surface convergent areas near the remaining surface boundaries and along the areas of higher terrain. The Near Surface Smoke concentrations in the HRRR show a gradual dissipation of the smoke through the next couple of days. As a result, the heavy haze seen across the area today following the passage of a cold front last night should be gradually dissipating over the next few days. Expect some near surface re-concentration as the overnight inversion sets up. However, once the surface inversion breaks up with the heating of the day, expect the near surface concentration of smoke to mix out through a larger depth. Unfortunately, the vertically integrated smoke being depicted by the HRRR is showing max concentrations through the day on Sunday before pushing further to the south and west. This would tend to support continued hazy conditions through the remainder of the weekend and into the first part of next week, although near surface smoke concentrations may stay low enough to not create air quality issues for potentially susceptible individuals. Expect temperatures to gradually through through Monday with highs back up around 90 degrees on Monday. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Saturday) Issued at 156 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 The extended forecast begins with a ridge over Eastern Montana and a longwave trough extending west to east from the Dakotas to New England and south to the Gulf Coast. Northwest flow aloft remains in place over the Tri-State area. High pressure will be in place over the Baja Peninsula. The pattern remains favorable for daily chance for showers and thunderstorms as a few disturbances move across the region. Given the dry conditions we've had in the area for the last week and precipitable water values of 0.8-1.0" across portions of the area, confidence in the potential for isolated flash flooding remains low at this time. Any showers and thunderstorms that do develop on Tuesday and Wednesday will have the potential to produce some gusty winds and much needed rainfall. Tuesday afternoon, the ridge begins to break down, shifting to the east over the area. High temperatures will make it up into the 80s with a few areas flirting with the 90 degree mark. Wednesday, the ridge continues to break down with an embedded shortwave trough moving into the area from the northwest. A few showers and thunderstorms will be possible and high temperatures will once again be in the 80s. An upper ridge moves in from the west on Thursday and Friday with a gradual warming trend possible. Highs are expected to return to the low to mid-90s for most of the region Friday afternoon. All eyes turn to the west Friday as a shortwave trough ejects out of the PAC NW, trekking across Montana and the Dakotas through the day. Models are in slight disagreement with the ECMWF being more aggressive in the forward movement of the trough at this time. Models also show an upper low nearing the Olympic Peninsula late in the forecast period. The system is still nearly a week from reaching shore, so will want to continue to monitor the forecast over the coming days. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Sunday night) Issued at 1107 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 Reduced visibilities (3-6 miles) associated with smoke (emanating from wildfires in the western CONUS) will affect both terminals through Sunday morning. Currently, visibilities are anticipated to improve to VFR by late morning or early afternoon. VFR conditions will otherwise prevail, with light and variable winds. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...LOCKHART LONG TERM...AW AVIATION...VINCENT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Goodland KS 625 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-020030- Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne-Rawlins-Decatur-Norton-Sherman-Thomas- Sheridan-Graham-Wallace-Logan-Gove-Greeley-Wichita-Dundy-Hitchcock- Red Willow- 625 PM MDT Sat Jul 31 2021 /725 PM CDT Sat Jul 31 2021/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska... northwest Kansas and east central Colorado. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT... Smoke emanating from wildfires in the western United States will linger over the Tri-State through tonight. Those with respiratory issues will want to monitor air quality. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. Vincent
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Precipitation ranged from one to three inches across the county, with the lowest amounts in the southeast part of the county. Normal precipitation for the month is two to three inches. The departure from normal ranged from two inches below normal to half an inch above normal.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, August 2021
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: 979731.