Flash Flood — Norton, Kansas

2016-09-03 to 2016-09-04 · near New Almelo, Norton, Kansas

Event narrative

The North Fork of the Solomon River was out of its banks causing all of Lenora to be flooded, along with a stretch of Highway 9 coming into town as well as elsewhere in the southern part of the county. Swift water rescues occurred in the southern part of Norton county during the late evening of the third. One of these rescues involved a couple who under estimated the depth of the water over the highway and drove through the flood waters on Highway 9. The vehicle was washed off the road and caught in a tree. The couple escaped from the vehicle and climbed into the tree, remaining there until rescuers arrived. There was one direct fatality from the flooding. The individual was driving north from Graham County on county roads toward Lenora. He drove into flood waters, under estimating their depth. His vehicle was washed off the road. His body was found a quarter mile away from the vehicle. In general, the majority of the rainfall fell south of CR W. Rainfall amounts of five to seven inches were common across southern Norton County. No information was given for property damage.

Wider weather episode

During the late afternoon and through most of the night strong to severe thunderstorms developed and trained along a surface boundary. The storms slowly moved east across parts of Northwest Kansas. The largest hail reported was quarter size in far northern Cheyenne County. The highest wind gust reported was 59 MPH at Goodland. The main impact from these storms was flash flooding over Cheyenne, Decatur, Norton, and Graham counties where estimated rainfall amounts of up to ten inches fell. Many roads in northern Cheyenne County had washouts three to four feet deep, with a few washouts eight to twelve feet deep. Road crews had to remove silt off Highway 36 west of Bird City where water flowed over the road. The worst of the flooding was over southern Norton and northern Graham counties where numerous roads were washed out and Lenora was flooded. The flash flooding transitioned to flooding during the overnight hours as the moderate to heavy rainfall moved to the east. Swift water rescues were conducted in southern Norton County. One fatality was reported from the flooding in Norton County. The flooding persisted into the evening of the fourth.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 659961. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.