Hail in Sedgwick County, Kansas

An early morning severe thunderstorm pounded western and central portions of Sedgwick County with destructive hail as large as 3 inches in diameter between roughly 6:10 and 6:30 AM CST. Several instances of 1.75 to 3 inch hail occurred from Goddard into western and central portions of Wichita, generally between 13th and Kellogg, and into the downtown area. Another area of large hail around 1.75 inches in diameter affected northern and northeast portions of Wichita, generally east of I-135 along K96. Surrounding the very large hail area were numerous reports of 0.75 to 1.25 inch hail, affecting portions of South, North, and East Wichita. The large hail inflicted widespread property damage across the Wichita area, some of which was rather severe, to automobiles, homes, and businesses. A handful of golf courses had to close for the day due to large divots on the putting greens, and Botanica Gardens just west of downtown sustained damage. Additionally, 17 police cars at the Patrol West Bureau near Central and I-235 had windows and/or flashing emergency lights shattered.