During the early evening hours on the 21st, a few clusters of thunderstorms moved southeast across portions of northwest Kansas. Hail up to one inch in diameter occurred in Thomas County, and wind gusts up to 70 mph occurred in Wichita County, downing numerous power poles.
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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.
During the early evening hours on the 21st, a few clusters of thunderstorms moved southeast across portions of northwest Kansas. Hail up to one inch in diameter occurred in Thomas County, and wind gusts up to 70 mph occurred in Wichita County, downing numerous power poles. A short lived tornado occurred in far northwest Thomas County on the leading edge of one of the storms.
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 Jun 21, 1:33 PM CST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 133 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Severe storms capable of producing 2 inch diameter hail, 75 mph wind gusts, and a brief tornado are possible this afternoon and evening, mainly between 2 PM and 9 PM MDT. - Locations that received heavy rain during the past 24-hr are more prone to experience flash flooding, should additional heavy rain occur this afternoon. - Severe storms capable of producing 2 inch diameter hail and 70 mph wind gusts are possible during the afternoon and evening hours Monday through Wednesday. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 1208 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 Today, a 500 mb low will create an 850 mb and surface low that will sweep across the southern portions of the Northern Plains. This will extend a cold front through the CWA, sparking off more storms in the afternoon hours. Highs are expected to be near 80 in the northeastern CWA, but near 90 in the southwestern CWA. Convection looks to just north of Yuma and Dundy counties, and move southeast. Additional convection will fire in off as a broken line to the southwest. As of 18Z, there is a Cu field forming in this area, which will become storms over the next couple of hours. Hail up around in the 1-2 inch range will be the main threat early on, but if a storm can really tap into the shear and CAPE, 3 inch hail will be possible. The tornadic threat is fairly similar, a bigger hazard early on. This does not look to be a great tornadic environment as hodographs are a little too straight. Winds are a threat through the whole event, but more so as the broken line grows together. Most likely winds will be in the 60-70 MPH range, but winds up to 80-85 MPH are possible. Convection looks to weaken around 3Z, with lingering showers potentially lasting until after 6Z. Lows tonight do look to be a bit cooler Sunday night behind the cold front, likely dropping into the 50s. Fog and stratus are likely again overnight. Monday, the northwesterly flow aloft persists and sends another shortwave across the Rockies and into the High Plains. Highs look to warm into the mid 70s in the northeastern CWA and mid 80s in the southwestern CWA. Convection looks to fire off the front range and Palmer Divide around 21-23Z and move east into the area. These CAMs are showing these storms decaying before they exit Colorado, but looking at CAPE and shear, they may continue into Nebraska and Kansas. Hail is the primary threat with these storms, up to 2 inches, and winds up to 60-70 MPH are possible. There is a low tornado risk, too. Additional sub-severe convection may trail these storms and linger into the overnight hours. The severe threat looks to end around 3-5Z. Lows tomorrow night look to cool into the 50s, maybe low 60s. Fog and stratus may return again. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 128 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 ***Tuesday-Wednesday*** A 500-mb trough looks to be moving across the Northern United States Tuesday, with a modest 40-55 kt jet streak at its base. The trough axis looks to be moving through the area throughout the day. At the same time, GEFS 850-mb height mean-spread guidance suggests the presence of a low in Colorado. Southerly flow from the low in Colorado would meet northerly flow underneath the trough axis, creating a convergence zone across the forecast region. Thunderstorms may be possible with this setup. LREF guidance suggests that up to 3000 J/kg of surface-based CAPE (a measure of atmospheric instability) may be in place. In addition, GFS and EC model soundings suggest that 0-6 km vertical shear around 40-50 kts is reasonably possible due to the 500-mb jet streak. This may allow thunderstorms to become severe, with primary hazards including high wind and large hail. This pattern may linger into Wednesday, which may continue to promote severe thunderstorms with similar hazards. Confidence in severe weather occurring is highest on Tuesday around 15-20%. ***Thursday-Sunday*** Ridging looks to begin moving in overhead sometime Thursday. Shortwave troughs embedded in the ridge may allow thunderstorms to stick around on Thursday and possibly Friday, though chances begin to decrease dramatically after Thursday. The entire County Warning Area (CWA) has a 50-70% chance of seeing greater than 0.1 inches of precipitation from Thursday's activity based on NBM 24-hr precipitation guidance. Whether or not these storms are allowed to become severe depends on the positioning and strength of the 500-mb jet. LREF 90th percentile guidance suggests that winds at 500-mb could still reach 30-40 kts, though it appears likely that the jet will be weaker on Thursday than that of Tuesday and Wednesday. If this is the case, the severe potential could be a bit lower Thursday. Confidence in severe weather occurring Thursday is down to about 5-10%. By Friday, all areas across the forecast region have a 1 in 3 chance or less to experience greater than 0.1 inches of precipitation according to NBM 24-hr precipitation guidance. This decreases to less than 10% Saturday and Sunday. In addition, as troughing sets up across the West Coast during the weekend, temperatures look to begin warming again. Highs are forecast in the mid 80s to lower 90s on Friday, and low to upper 90s on Saturday and Sunday. As this heating occurs and moisture moves off to the east, dry conditions look to set in. Forecast guidance suggests that portions of East-Central Colorado may see relative humidities (RH) drop into the low to mid teens Saturday and Sunday. Wind gusts may be allowed to reach the 25 to 30 mph range across this zone, which could implicate critical fire weather as a concern. However, confidence in a Red Flag Warning being needed either day is around 5% or less, as both RH values and wind gusts are just meeting criteria for the hazard. Additionally, precipitation over the next several days may help counter the incoming dry conditions. Even so, this development will be something to keep an eye on as we approach the weekend. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1117 AM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 The ceilings are slowing lifting and breaking across the region. KMCK and KGLD are expected to return to VFR conditions by 20Z. Winds look to be chaotic this afternoon, shifting from southwesterly to easterly before more storms move in during the afternoon hours. Once the convection clears, around 3Z, MVFR to IFR ceilings return around 9Z and will persist until after sunrise. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 1117 AM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 Over the next week, we are looking at near daily chances of convection as PWATs range around 0.9-1.75 inch. We are also expecting 0C level to be around 15,000 feet AGL, leading to deep melting layers, promoting efficient rainfall producing storms. Recent precipitation totals (preliminary) along a line from Trenton, NE to Grinnell, KS range from 3-6 inches. Additionally, areas in southern Rawlins and northern Thomas county range around 2.5-5 inches. These locations will be at the highest risk for additional flooding and flash flooding to occur this afternoon and evening. A Flood Watch has not been issued due to a lack of confidence that tonight's storms will produce more than 1-1.5 inches of rain. Guidance is also highlighting areas to the east of the saturated locations, reducing the potential for compounding flood risks. Current confidence in additional flash flooding occurring this afternoon and evening is around 30-40%. Through Friday, there are returning chances of precipitation across the CWA. If storms keep passing over the same, saturated areas, flooding becomes a reoccurring risk. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. CO...None. NE...None. && SHORT TERM...CA LONG TERM...Davis AVIATION...CA HYDROLOGY...CA
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Goodland KS 1254 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-221900- Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne CO-Cheyenne KS-Rawlins-Decatur-Norton- Sherman-Thomas-Sheridan-Graham-Wallace-Logan-Gove-Greeley-Wichita- Dundy-Hitchcock-Red Willow- 1254 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026 /154 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska... northwest Kansas and east central Colorado. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued until 8 PM MT for the entire Tri-State area. Storms capable of producing 2 inch diameter hail, 75 mph wind gusts, and a brief tornado are possible this afternoon and evening, mainly between 2 PM and 9 PM MDT. Heavy rainfall is possible with the storms this afternoon and evening. Locations that received heavy rainfall during the past 24 hours are more prone to experience flash flooding. Driving through flooding roadways is dangerous. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... Severe storms capable of producing 2 inch diameter hail and 70 mph wind gusts are possible during the afternoon and evening hours Monday through Wednesday. There is an ongoing flash flooding threat through the week as additional rounds of efficient rain producing storms move through the area.Driving through flooding roadways is dangerous. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions.
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
323 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0305 PM Hail 12 N Max 40.28N 101.40W
06/21/2026 M3.20 Inch Dundy NE Trained Spotter
Social Media report of pictured 3.2 inch
hail measured with Calipers.
&&
DHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
331 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0320 PM Hail 3 W Stratton 40.13N 101.27W
06/21/2026 E1.50 Inch Hitchcock NE Public
Report from mPING: Ping Pong Ball (1.50
in.).
&&
DHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
334 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0320 PM Hail Stratton 40.15N 101.23W
06/21/2026 M1.00 Inch Hitchcock NE Storm Chaser
Spotter Network: report of 1.00 inch hail.
&&
DHPreliminary Local Storm Report...Corrected
National Weather Service Goodland KS
336 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0253 PM Hail 12 NNW Max 40.28N 101.46W
06/21/2026 M3.00 Inch Dundy NE Trained Spotter
Corrects previous hail report from 12 NNW
Max. Spotter Network report: Measured with
Calipers 3 inch hail.
&&
DHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
344 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0339 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 ENE Saint Francis 39.78N 101.78W
06/21/2026 M57 MPH Cheyenne KS Mesonet
AWN station measured 57 mph gust.
&&
KAKPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Goodland KS
359 PM MDT Sun Jun 21 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0356 PM Hail 4 W Bird City 39.76N 101.60W
06/21/2026 M0.50 Inch Cheyenne KS Public
Text message report of half inch hail.
&&
KAKThe Goodland radar (KGLD), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:15 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
No damage was reported, however a weak tornado debris signature was seen on radar.
Per a text message with a photo, quarter size hail occurred in Levant.
Measured at the Tribune/Greeley County Airport.
The hail ranged from pea to penny size.
Measured by a Davis Weather Station.
Several power poles were downed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 2026Warnings in Kansas, June 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: 1361326, 1353130, 1353131, 1353133, 1353132, 1353134.