Torrential rain in the Pretty Prairie area this morning – 1.75 inches in 45 minutes – has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning for southeastern Reno County.
The basin most affected by the rainfall will be the north fork of the Ninnescah River.
Expect more episodes like this over the next several days, forecasters warn.
It is shaping up to be another wet day in the Wichita metropolitan area, forecasters say.
Scattered showers are possible during the day, and they’ll become more numerous this evening. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall on areas still saturated from last weekend’s downpours.
Accordingly, a flash flood watch has been posted for 22 counties in central and southern Kansas – including the Wichita metropolitan area – through Friday morning.
Highs today should reach the low 70s, with light southerly winds.
Chances for rain should persist into Friday.
Tornadoes have touched down south of Garden City in southwest Kansas.
The Storm Prediction Center has logged a half-dozen reports of tornadoes in Finney and Haskell counties, though they may be the same tornado hopscotching through the region.
Damage has been reported to at least one farmstead, some power poles and an irrigation pivot system – and reports are still coming in.
Large hail – up to 1.75 inches in diameter in spots – and heavy rain have also been reported in the area. More than 4 inches of rain has fallen south of Haviland in Kiowa County.
The tornado has taken a unique track — moving first southeast, then shifting to nearly straight south. Tornadoes frequently move southwest to northeast, though others have traveled due north.
The tornado that hit Haysville and south Wichita on May 3, 1999, took a northerly track. The Greensburg tornado on May 4, 2007, also came into town from the south.
Several storm chasers are tracking the tornado, and I’m hoping to track down an image or two at some point.
This little tidbit will surprise almost no one, but I wanted to share it nonetheless.
The 5.10 inches of rain that fell Sunday set a record for most rain in Wichita on April 26. The old record was no slouch for Kansas – 1.88 inches in 1969 – but Sunday’s rainfall would have set the mark for every day in the month except April 22, when 6.03 inches fell in 1944.
Wichita is now well above normal for rainfall this calendar year, silencing the murmurs of discontent about a dry winter.
But it’ll take another 3 inches to qualify for wettest April in Wichita history. As saturated as the soils are, nobody will be thinking about the record book if another 3 inches falls over the next two days. They’ll be far more interested in high ground instead.
Waves of rain and rumbles of thunder can be expected throughout the day today as more storms move through the Wichita area.
Given the heavy rain that fell over most of southcentral Kansas last weekend, soils remain saturated – meaning street flooding is possible during and just after rainy spells, forecasters warn.
These storms are moving much faster than the nearly stationary front that pounded the region Sunday and Monday, forecasters said. As a result, less than an inch of rain is expected in most parts of the Wichita today.
Highs should reach the upper 70s today, with south winds surging from the teens to nearly 30 miles an hour.
Chances of rain will persist through Sunday, forecasters warn.
Patchy fog is expected in the Wichita area until about 9 a.m. today, as all that moisture still lingering in the region condenses in the early-morning chill.
Once the fog dissipates, skies should become mostly sunny as temperatures climb into the mid-60s. Light winds out of the east may reach double digits.
Showers are likely again on Wednesday – bad news for an area still under flood warnings today.
The National Weather Service has posted photos and a video of the EF1 tornado that touched down in western Sedgwick County Sunday night.
Jim Epperson shot the video and a couple of the photos and offered them to the weather service. Other photos were shot by Bryce Kintigh.
The tornado was about 70 yards wide and was on the ground for 3.14 miles, touching down near 263rd Street West and lifting near MacArthur Road and 231st Street West.
Two minor injuries were reported to a couple that was in a camper flipped over by the tornado.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has compiled a list of roads closed around the state due to flooding. There are 10 at the moment, including two in the Wichita area: one in Butler County and one in Sumner County.
With skies clearing later today in the Wichita area and Tuesday expected to be dry, it will give area waterways several precious hours to ease back from flood conditions.
The official rainfall total for Wichita over the past 24 hours will be 6.05 inches, since that is what was recorded at the official site next to Mid-Continent Airport as of 7 a.m., officials said.
Other rainfall totals include 5.21 inches in far west Wichita; 6.54 inches from Saturday night through 7 a.m. Monday in Willowbend, and more than 6 inches in Andover.
Here are more rainfall totals from the region, courtesy of the National Weather Service:
Conway Springs, 4.34
El Dorado, 3.84
Hutchinson, 1.45
Inman, 1.65
Cassoday, 4.31
Anthony, 6.55
Arkansas City, .48
Winfield, .16
Wellington, .73
Rosalia, 3.95
Potwin, 5.08
Oxford, .90
Mdison, 3.80
Newton, 3.35
Lindsborg, 3.92
McPherson, 2.22
Hillsboro, 3
Goessel, 3.67
Chase, 2.52
Smolan, 2.25
More rain is possible today in the Wichita area, forecasters say, and it could be heavy in spots.
Highs should reach the upper 50s or low 60s under cloudy skies. Winds out of the northeast will be gusty, reaching nearly 30 miles an hour.
Skies should clear later tonight, and Tuesday looks to offer a needed respite from the rain. Highs tomorrow should climb into the upper 60s.