Biblical rainfall in KS

[Glenn Rivers]

I hope you don't mind me posting this here.....
The Wichita WSR-88D is showing an epic rainstorm to the north with ~6 hour rains of > 10 inches over some 200-300 square miles and a storm max of 16 inches. The 100 year 6 hour point rainfall for this part of Kansas is around 7 inches. If the radar estimates are correct, this storm has produced 6 hour rainfalls of 200-250% of the expected 100 year values for areas of <10 - >200 square miles.

Given the heavy rains of previous days, I would not be surprised if 1 or more catchments of ~5-50 square miles develope peak flows higher then any observed in the historic records for catchments of this size in this area of KS.

6 hour rainfalls have probably reached ~500% of the 6H Flash Flood Guidence in at least a small area........it will be nothing short of a small miracle if nobody drowns.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

I was just looking at the same thing... My most recent look through KS METARs didn't show anything too heavy, but, as you noted, 88D storm total precip is showing incredibly high amounts of rainfall from just north of ICT northeastward. Usually, these precip amounts are overdone a bit courtesy of hail contamination, but there hasn't been a whole lot of large hail reported with these storms, so that takes that potential error out of the equation. Persistent cell regeneration to the north and northwest of ICT has been very interesting to watch on radar for the past several hours, as the 55-65 dbz are literally stationary for hours and hours, with only a slow northward drift evident in the last 1 or so.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

KSC079-155-173-091130-
HARVEY KS-RENO KS-SEDGWICK KS-
209 AM CDT THU JUN 9 2005

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR HARVEY...RENO AND SEDGWICK
COUNTIES UNTIL 630 AM CDT...

AT 157 AM CDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED THAT THERE
ARE A NUMBER OF RESCUES TAKING PLACE IN HARVEY COUNTY DUE TO
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUES TO INDICATE VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL OCCURRING MAINLY OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THAT COUNTY WITH
NEARLY A FOOT OF RAINFALL. MORE RAINFALL AND FLOODING IS EXPECTED
DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS ALSO
OCCURRING IN RENO COUNTY WITH APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 8 INCHES OF
RAINFALL.

THE RESCUES WERE TAKING PLACE 6 MILES SOUTH OF NEWTON AND ALONG
HIGHWAY 196.

$$

 

[John Diel]

I was up just north and west of Wichita for a while this evening, We were hearing reports of 10 to 12 inches in the Newton area with more to come.