Less than 48 hours after a line of damaging winds marched across North Central Kansas, a significant episode of severe weather targeted the six-county area on this Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning in the vicinity of a surface warm front. There were numerous reports of hail to golf ball size or larger across the area, and a few instances of damaging winds up to around 75 MPH. A brief EF0 tornado also occurred in far northern Phillips County. In addition, these storms drenched much of the area with torrential rainfall, bringing yet another round of significant flooding. Duration-wise, this was one of the most prolific severe weather events of the 2011 season, with at least one convective warning, and sometimes several, in effect at any given time for nearly 10 straight hours from around 4 PM to 2 AM CDT. A few of the more notable severe weather reports included 2-inch diameter hail in the Stockton and Natoma areas, and several power poles downed southeast of Alton.
In terms of flooding, this was the third, and likely worst heavy rain event to strike this portion of North Central Kansas in a two-week span dating back to May 19th. Much of Smith, Jewell, Osborne and Mitchell Counties tallied 3-5 inches of rain. An observer at Ionia reported 4.59 inches from this event, bringing the total rainfall during the past nine days up to 9.57 inches. At one point in the evening, one foot of water was reported over Highway 14 in southern Mitchell County. Widespread rural flooding of creeks, streams and roads ensued as well, impacting various waterways including the Limestone, Oak and White Rock Creeks. Some evacuations were necessary northeast of Downs. Several main-stem rivers also went into flood, including the Solomon at Glen Elder and Beloit, North Fork Solomon at Portis, and South Fork Solomon at Woodston and Osborne. The gauges at Portis, Glen Elder and Beloit exceeded moderate flood stage, with Glen Elder cresting 5.76 feet over flood stage on the evening of the 2nd.
This event essentially consisted of multiple, splitting supercell storms developing and tracking through the same areas. The first supercells initiated just west of the area around 330 PM CDT, quickly became severe, and rolled into Rooks and Phillips Counties by 430 PM. Although the initial volley of severe storms started to exit southern portions of Osborne and Mitchell Counties around 9 PM, considerable redevelopment soon took place farther west along the nose of a strong low-level jet. As a result, a whole new round of severe storms traversed the area for several more hours before finally exiting east of Jewell and Mitchell Counties by 2 AM, but not before producing gusts to 68 MPH at the Beloit airport.
Although the mesoscale environment was supportive of severe weather, the long-lasting nature of this event was somewhat unexpected given a lack of large-scale forcing. The mid-levels featured only subtle, weak shortwave energy, well downstream from a powerful trough centered along the Pacific Northwest coast. However, deep-layer vertical wind shear around 40 knots, in combination with high mixed-layer CAPE values of 2500-4000 J/kg at the onset of the event made for a very conducive supercell environment. The primary instigator for multiple rounds of supercells was a persistent southerly low-level jet impinging over a surface warm front stretched from southwest Nebraska to east central Kansas. Winds along the nose of this jet at the 850-millibar level accelerated to 50 knots during the evening. This created very strong low-level wind shear and a mesoscale environment quite favorable for tornadoes. A review of radar data suggests that multiple storm-scale interactions, along with the outflow-dominant nature of some supercells likely spared North Central Kansas from a more significant tornado threat.

Hail in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:06:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:06:00 (CST-6)
Location: LOGAN
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Rain in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: IONIA
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 4.25 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: HUNTER
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 3.24 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in SMITH, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: SMITH CENTER
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 3.21 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: IONIA
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 4.59 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in SMITH, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: LEBANON
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 3.38 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: ALTON
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 3.10 of storm total rainfall.

Heavy Rain in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: BELOIT
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The Cooperative Observer reported 3.08 of storm total rainfall.

Hail in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:18:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:18:00 (CST-6)
Location: STOCKTON MUNI ARPT
Magnitude: 1.50 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:33:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:33:00 (CST-6)
Location: COVERT
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:34:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:34:00 (CST-6)
Location: STOCKTON
Magnitude: 2.00 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: County Official

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:40:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:40:00 (CST-6)
Location: OSBORNE
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:45:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:45:00 (CST-6)
Location: OSBORNE
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:30:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: ALTON
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:30:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: WOODRUFF
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:20:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:35:00 (CST-6)
Location: ALTON
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The hail lasted at least 15 minutes.

Hail in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:46:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:46:00 (CST-6)
Location: WEBBER
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Broadcast Media

Hail in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:10:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: PLAINVILLE
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: County Official

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:38:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:38:00 (CST-6)
Location: NATOMA
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Nickel to quarter size hail fell.

Hail in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:43:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:43:00 (CST-6)
Location: CODELL
Magnitude: 1.50 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:48:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:48:00 (CST-6)
Location: NATOMA
Magnitude: 2.00 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 500.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:28:00 to 01-JUN-11 19:28:00 (CST-6)
Location: NATOMA
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: NATOMA
Magnitude: 1.50 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Hail in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 to 01-JUN-11 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: CODELL
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 21:23:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:23:00 (CST-6)
Location: AGRA
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: County Official

Thunderstorm Wind in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:11:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:11:00 (CST-6)
Location: CAWKER CITY
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Minor tree limb damage was reported.

Thunderstorm Wind in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 17:25:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:25:00 (CST-6)
Location: ALTON
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 30.00K
Crop damage: 100.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Several power poles and tree limbs were damaged in the area due to the 75 mph. Power was lost for several hours.

Thunderstorm Wind in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 20:42:00 to 01-JUN-11 20:42:00 (CST-6)
Location: STOCKTON
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winds were estimated at 60 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:29:00 to 02-JUN-11 00:29:00 (CST-6)
Location: BELOIT ARPT
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

The Automated Weather Observing System at Moritz Memorial Airport measured a wind speed of 68 mph. There was widespread tree damage and power loss in the area.

Flash Flood in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 20:20:00 to 01-JUN-11 22:37:00 (CST-6)
Location: VICTOR
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Over a foot of water covered State Highway 14 south of Beloit. There were several other roads in the area deemed impassible due to the high water.

Funnel Cloud in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 16:50:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: LATON
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Local law enforcement reported a funnel cloud south of Woodston.

Thunderstorm Wind in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 18:20:00 to 01-JUN-11 18:25:00 (CST-6)
Location: CAWKER CITY
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

An estimated wind gust of 75 mph dropped tree limbs throughout Cawker City, which resulted in a lengthy power outage in the area.

Tornado in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 01-JUN-11 20:40:00 to 01-JUN-11 20:44:00 (CST-6)
Location: WOODRUFF
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

A brief tornado traveled about 1/2 mile across some farmland in rural northern Phillips County.

Flood in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 to 02-JUN-11 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: WOODSTON
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 2.00K
Crop damage: 100.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Heavy rain in the area caused the South Fork of the Solomon River to flood for a short time near Woodston.

Flood in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 to 04-JUN-11 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: CAWKER CITY
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 1.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Runoff from heavy rainfall in excess of 4 inches in Smith and Jewell Counties resulted in flooding along the Solomon River near and downstream of Beloit.

Flood in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 to 04-JUN-11 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: IONIA
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 3.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Heavy rainfall in excess of four inches resulted in widespread flooding along the Little Oak, Granite and Limestone Creeks.

Flood in SMITH, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 to 04-JUN-11 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: LEBANON
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 3.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Heavy rain in excess of 4 inches cause widespread flooding in southeast Smith County. The worst flood conditions were felt along the Oak Creek near Dispatch and its upstream tributaries.

Flood in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 02-JUN-11 00:30:00 to 04-JUN-11 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: PORTIS
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 3.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Heavy rain in excess of 4 inches caused flooding in northeast Osborne County along the North Fork of the Solomon River, the Twelve-mile Creek and the Oak Creek.