Hail — Sedgwick, Kansas

2010-09-15 · near Goddard, Sedgwick, Kansas

Event narrative

Two supercell thunderstorms left a destructive swath of very large hail across portions of the county. The swath of hail was approximately 5 miles wide and 15 miles long, stretching from northwest of Goddard, Kansas through the western and southern half of Wichita, Kansas to near Rose Hill, Kansas. Hail as large as softball and grapefruit size pounded roofs and cars along its path with over 35,000 claims turned into insurance agencies. The hail made roofs look like a war zone, with holes big enough for people to stick their heads through. Cars and golf courses were pot marked with large dents. Some of the hail came through roofs, including the terminal at the Mid Continent Airport in Wichita. Three commercial airliners were damaged and had to be towed to hangers for repairs. The National Weather Service in Wichita suffered damage to its vehicles, including one hail dent that was almost 10 inches across. One such hailstone 2 miles west of the National Weather Service office broke the state record for diameter, measuring 7.75 inches across (see separate entry).

Wider weather episode

A combination of a low pressure area along the Kansas Oklahoma border, and an outflow boundary across South Central Kansas, led to the development of supercell thunderstorms across South Central Kansas. The supercells thunderstorms were noted for a swath of very large hail that extended from West Wichita to near Udall Kansas. Numerous reports of grapefruit or larger hail were reported across Wichita, with one such hail stone in West Wichita, Kansas, breaking the state record for diameter of 7.75 inches. A few weak tornadoes were also produced, with all the tornadoes moving across open country.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.7219, -97.6269)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 263038. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.