On the evening of August 15th, a cold front advanced towards Northwest Kansas from the west, then stalled along the Colorado/Kansas border going into August 16th. As a result, slow-moving thunderstorms developed which produced torrential rainfall of up to five inches in the area.
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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 GLD wrote it up.
On the evening of August 15th, a cold front advanced towards Northwest Kansas from the west, then stalled along the Colorado/Kansas border going into August 16th. As a result, slow-moving thunderstorms developed which produced torrential rainfall of up to five inches in the area. Hackberry Creek in Cheyenne County was reported to have flooded with this rainfall.
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 Aug 16, 5:46 AM CST, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 546 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Wednesday) Issued at 312 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 The short term period is still forecasted to see mainly below average temperatures with a few shower/storms mainly on Tuesday. Early this morning, showers and storms continue to move roughly east across the area with intensity continuing to wind down. Additional shower and storm development will remain possible through the morning hours, though no threats are expected due to lower instability and rain rates of an inch or less per hour. The higher chances for rain will generally remain south of I-70/Highway 24 though guidance has hinted at a few storms developing near the Nebraska border along some surface convergence. Current observations support this with faster northerly winds along northern portions of the area with the rest of the area seeing generally light winds. Otherwise, mostly cloudy to cloudy skies will help keep the area cooler with highs mainly in the low to mid 70's. A few locales to the north where the sun may break could push 80. Tonight, a few storms may move in along and south of Highway 40 from development along the Palmer divide in the afternoon. The higher chances will be further south in Southeastern Colorado and Southwestern Kansas. With skies remaining mostly cloudy, lows are forecasted to remain around 60. Tomorrow, the high pressure is forecasted to linger near the area but should begin to push off to the east. With 850mb temps near 20C and clearing skies, temperatures are forecasted to reach the 80's though some locales south of Highway 40 may remain under cloud cover with highs in the 70's. Chances for rain will diminish as the area dries out from north to south. Winds are expected to be light with a broad surface pressure gradient and the higher pressure over the area. Tomorrow night, skies should clear with winds remaining relatively light. This will allow temperatures to drop to near dewpoint which should allow for lows to reach the mid 50's. Fog may be possible but the prevailing wind direction from the southwest isn't too favorable for fog development. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 323 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 Warmer than average temperatures Thursday turn cooler on Friday and Saturday before returning to seasonable values on Sunday and Monday. Highs in the 80s to lower 90s return to the 80s while lows settle into the middle 50s to lower 60s. The amplified ridge over the Intermountain region places northwest flow over the central High Plains region on Thursday that brings a weak short wave trough aloft across the area early in the day on Thursday and a surface cold front Thursday night into early Friday morning along with a few showers and thunderstorms across southwest Nebraska into north central Kansas. A stronger low pressure center drops into the upper midwest Thursday night and Friday ahead of a series of disturbances that move into the upper ridge over the western U.S. over the weekend that results in a weather more chaotic flow over the Rockies and High Plains region early next week. With the surface front nearly parallel to the upper flow through the weekend, the boundary remains in the vicinity of the forecast area providing a weak focus for isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms each day through the weekend into the beginning of next week across mainly the western and southern portions of the forecast area as the upper disturbances move across the central high plains region. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Wednesday morning) Issued at 451 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 For KGLD... MVFR conditions are expected through most of the period due to ceilings expected around 2200-3000 ft. There may be a few instances of VFR conditions during the day but cloud cover will persist through the period. Tonight, there is a chance for IFR or LIFR conditions as winds are forecasted to become light and the temperature drop to near the dewpoint. For KMCK... *** Corrected at 11:40Z *** With winds increasing to above 5+ kts and surrounding obs showing improving visibility and ceilings, have corrected the TAF to be MVFR through the daytime hours. A brief period of IFR ceilings in the first 2 hours can't be ruled out but would not warrant a TEMPO group based on obs. Still expecting IFR/LIFR ceilings and visibility tonight after about 03Z. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...KAK LONG TERM...LOCKHART AVIATION...KAK
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Goodland KS 215 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-170815- Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne-Rawlins-Decatur-Norton-Sherman-Thomas- Sheridan-Graham-Wallace-Logan-Gove-Greeley-Wichita-Dundy-Hitchcock- Red Willow- 215 AM MDT Tue Aug 16 2022 /315 AM CDT Tue Aug 16 2022/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska... northwest Kansas and east central Colorado. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. Any reports of rainfall or flooding from Monday night are greatly appreciated.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
715 AM MDT TUE AUG 16 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0714 AM HEAVY RAIN 1 N HAIGLER 40.02N 101.94W
08/16/2022 M3.37 INCH DUNDY NE PUBLIC
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT OF 3.37 INCHES STORM
TOTAL PRECIPITATION.
&&
KAKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
815 AM MDT TUE AUG 16 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0756 AM HEAVY RAIN 5 N SAINT FRANCIS 39.84N 101.80W
08/16/2022 E2.20 INCH CHEYENNE KS PUBLIC
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Report received of Hackberry Creek running out of its banks north of St. Francis. Location and duration of event are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, August 2022
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: 1053549.