Hail — Butler, Kansas

2015-05-26 · near El Dorado, Butler, Kansas

Event narrative

We received a delayed report of baseball-sized hail that caused damage to an unspecified number of local businesses.

Wider weather episode

In the evening, a few severe thunderstorms dropped hail across parts of Sedgwick, Sumner, Butler, and Greenwood Counties. Of these counties, by far the largest and most destructive hail occurred in Butler County, where most of El Dorado was pummeled by golf ball to baseball-sized hail.

No doubt, damage was widespread. The most serious occurred along and south of Central Avenue (K-254) from Boyer Road to the Walnut River.

Most vehicles sustained significant damage that no doubt included shattered wind shields. Perhaps the most note worthy was to the John K. Fisher Chevrolet/Cadillac Dealership where around 50 cars were heavily damaged. There was major damage to roofs and siding of countless homes and businesses. The very large hail caused major roof damage on the Butler County Community College campus where most of their vehicles were heavily damaged. Extensive roof damage, that included many broken sky lights, caused the closure of Walmart. Many traffic signals were also damaged and some cases, destroyed.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.8200, -96.8600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 587904. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.