A hotspot detection picked up a signal for a wildfire. Emergency management confirmed the wildfire.
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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.
A hotspot detection picked up a signal for a wildfire. Emergency management confirmed the wildfire. Surface conditions near the fire were relative humidities of 9% and SW winds at 24 mph gusting to 38 mph.
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 16, 11:21 AM CST, 3 hours 39 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 1221 PM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Red Flag conditions today. Do not burn! - Much cooler Friday. Much of the storms to remain E/SE of the FA. - Freezing lows over the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1221 PM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 Temperatures are quickly warming up currently. Red Flag conditions are still expected and on track for this afternoon. Do not burn! Otherwise, a south to southwest wind is expected through the overnight hours. This will help keep minimums up with 40s in the northwest to 60s in the southeast. Attention then turns to tomorrow morning. A relatively strong cold front will quickly traverse the region in the morning. Gusty northerly winds are expected in its wake. Have collaborated with the neighbor NWS offices to go with cooler highs with the faster moving front tomorrow. Going with around 60F in the northwest zones, upper 60s to lower 70s across the central zones, and the warmest with lower 80s across south-central Kansas. Since the front is moving faster, the warm sector will be displaced farther southeast and east. As a result, any severe thunderstorm activity will mostly miss the FA. Have some pops mainly across Barber county during the afternoon and evening. The ARW has the front farther south into Oklahoma, so there is the possibility that all the storm activity will remain clear of the FA. If storms do form in the far SE, they could become severe, but should quickly exit the FA in a short time period. Long story short... looks like an overall quiet weather day Friday. Some good news is that with the faster moving front, the fire danger should be negated with increasing afternoon relative humidities in the post- frontal environment. Attention then turns to Saturday and Sunday mornings. Have added 3 more counties in the freeze watch based off the latest NBM minimum temperatures for Saturday morning. Be sure to cover any plants given forecast lows in the upper 20s across the northwest zones and around freezing farther to the southeast. Another freeze is possible Sunday morning, and a freeze headline may be needed in the future. Otherwise, a tranquil weather pattern is expected over the weekend highs in the 60s on Saturday and 70s on Sunday. The next business week is looking to feature upper level ridging. Both the GEFS and ENS ensembles are dry for next week. Highs will trend to be above normal as we continue forward through the rest of the business week. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 1100 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 VFR is expected through TAF pd. LLWS via a 50 kt LLJ will be possible through the overnight hours for KGCK/KHYS. Otherwise, S to SW 5-15 kt winds will continue today and tonight. A fropa is expected in the 13-16Z time frame. Winds will eventually become NW to N and will be gusty in the post-frontal regime. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1221 PM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 Red Flag conditions are still on track for today. Do not burn! A fast moving front is expected in the morning. Afternoon relative humidities will increase during the afternoon in the post-frontal environment. Thus, no fire weather headlines are expected for Friday. && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ this evening for KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090. Freeze Watch from late Friday night through Saturday morning for KSZ030-043>045-061>064-074>078-084>087. && DISCUSSION...Sugden AVIATION...Sugden FIRE WEATHER...Sugden
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Dodge City KS
224 PM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0720 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 6 S Sun City 37.28N 98.92W
04/11/2026 M70 MPH Barber KS CO-OP Observer
&&
JLThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Hotspot detected with confirmation of an ongoing wildfire from emergency management southwest of the town of Kinsley.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, April 2026
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: 1330751.