The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for 24 counties in southwest Kansas until 9 p.m. today. Large hail and damaging winds are the most likely threat, forecasters say, but tornadoes can’t be ruled out.
The counties included in the threat are Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kiowa, Lane, Meade, Morton, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Scott, Seward, Stafford, Stanton and Stevens.
“It looks like we’ll have some severe storms near Dodge City and along the dry line” to about Elkhart, said Jonathan Finch, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Dodge City office.
More storms are likely in the region on Tuesday, Finch said, primarily east of a line from Colby to Garden City to Liberal.
The severe weather threat will reach Wichita and points east by Thursday.