Overview
Strong south winds quickly increased low level moisture on Tuesday April 1st while a cold front sagged down from the north. This set the stage for severe storms to erupt during the early evening hour across Central Kansas. One storm along the line quickly became a supercell the started to exhibit low level rotation. It produced a couple brief tornadoes as it approached Salina but luckily lifted before reaching the city. Numerous additional storms produced large hail along with damaging winds. Training storms over the same areas also resulted in flooding across Ellsworth and Barton Counties. |
![]() Picture of tornado near Kanopolis Lake. Picture taken by Jereme Whelan |
Photos & Video
Infrared satellite animation showing storms erupting over central KS | Radar animation from April 1st. |
Radar animation from KICT of the supercell that produced a couple tornadoes southwest of Salina | Radar animation from KTWX of the supercell that produced a couple tornadoes southwest of Salina |
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Picture of tornado just east of Kanopolis Lake | Picture of possible tornado southwest of Salina |
Storm reports from April 1st |
Rainfall totals from the event |
Early morning wind damage in Tyro |
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Storm Reports
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary National Weather Service Wichita KS 1028 AM CDT Wed Apr 2 2025 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0135 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 N Moundridge 38.22N 97.52W 04/02/2025 E65 MPH McPherson KS Trained Spotter Pea-sized hail also occurring. 0838 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 9 WNW Salina 38.87N 97.77W 04/01/2025 E60 MPH Saline KS Trained Spotter 1155 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 W Lyons 38.34N 98.23W 04/01/2025 M60 MPH Rice KS AWOS Measured at the Lyons Airport. 0125 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 N Burrton 38.06N 97.67W 04/02/2025 E60 MPH Harvey KS Law Enforcement Relayed by Harvey County EM. 0536 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 W Elk City 37.28N 95.95W 04/02/2025 E60 MPH Montgomery KS Emergency Mngr EM relayed fire department report of 60 mph gusts at intersection. 0602 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 S Tyro 37.02N 95.82W 04/02/2025 E60 MPH Montgomery KS Trained Spotter 1143 PM Hail 1 N Chase 38.37N 98.35W 04/01/2025 M1.57 Inch Rice KS Emergency Mngr Emergency manager reported ping pong ball size hail just north of Chase. 1230 AM Hail 2 N Salina 38.84N 97.61W 04/02/2025 M1.50 Inch Saline KS Trained Spotter Picture of 1.5 inch hail received from trained spotter. 0856 PM Hail 4 N New Cambria 38.94N 97.51W 04/01/2025 E1.00 Inch Saline KS Trained Spotter 1020 PM Hail Bushton 38.51N 98.39W 04/01/2025 E1.00 Inch Rice KS Public 1035 PM Hail Kanopolis 38.71N 98.16W 04/01/2025 M1.00 Inch Ellsworth KS Trained Spotter Trained spotter reported quarter size hail. 1050 PM Hail Ellsworth 38.74N 98.23W 04/01/2025 E1.00 Inch Ellsworth KS Trained Spotter 1157 PM Hail 1 W Geneseo 38.52N 98.17W 04/01/2025 M1.00 Inch Rice KS Trained Spotter 1230 AM Hail 3 SE Salina 38.79N 97.59W 04/02/2025 M1.00 Inch Saline KS Public 0111 AM Hail 2 N Hutchinson 38.09N 97.92W 04/02/2025 E1.00 Inch Reno KS Public Report from mPING 0255 AM Hail Wichita Eisenhower Airp 37.65N 97.44W 04/02/2025 M1.00 Inch Sedgwick KS Official NWS Obs Mostly peas and dimes, but a couple of hail stones measured up to 1 inch in diameter. 0312 AM Hail 2 W Whitewater 37.96N 97.19W 04/02/2025 E1.00 Inch Harvey KS Public 0825 PM Hail 3 WNW Wichita Eisenhowe 37.68N 97.48W 04/01/2025 E0.88 Inch Sedgwick KS Public 0351 AM Hail 2 S El Dorado 37.80N 96.85W 04/02/2025 E0.88 Inch Butler KS Public 0931 PM Hail 1 SE Chanute 37.66N 95.45W 04/01/2025 E0.75 Inch Neosho KS Trained Spotter 0949 PM Funnel Cloud 7 W Marquette 38.57N 97.96W 04/01/2025 Ellsworth KS Trained Spotter 0953 PM Tornado 8 SW Brookville 38.69N 97.97W 04/01/2025 Ellsworth KS Trained Spotter 1014 PM Tornado 1 N Smolan 38.76N 97.69W 04/01/2025 Saline KS Trained Spotter Trained spotter reported a tornado on the ground. 1115 PM Flood Ellsworth 38.74N 98.23W 04/01/2025 Ellsworth KS Trained Spotter Reports of roads being shut down on the south side of Ellsworth due to flooding. 1150 PM Flood 2 E Great Bend 38.36N 98.77W 04/01/2025 Barton KS 911 Call Center Multiple calls of stalled vehicles due to street flooding in Great Bend between 1115PM and 1150PM CDT. 0127 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 SSE Burrton 38.01N 97.67W 04/02/2025 Harvey KS Emergency Mngr Broken power pole at SW 24th and Burmac Rd near Burrton. 0555 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Tyro 37.03N 95.82W 04/02/2025 Montgomery KS Public Large tree uprooted onto house.
Environment
The biggest question with this setup was whether the good low level moisture would make it far enough north for storms in Kansas to be tornadic or even severe. Extreme levels of low level shear and deep shear was already in place, so it was just a mater of quality moisture. In addition there was some questions regarding capping, since storms would likely hold off until after dark.
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18z SFC Chart | 21z SFC Chart | 00Z SFC Chart | 03z SFC Chart |
Near-storm environment summary.
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18z MSLP | 00z MSLP | 03 MSLP |
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18z 500mb | 00z 500mb | 03z 500mb |
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18z 300mb | 00z 300mb | 03z 300mb |
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18z SFC CAPE | 00z SFC CAPE | 03z SFC CAPE |
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18z 0-3km CAPE | 00z 0-3km CAPE | 03z 0-3km CAPE |
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21z Effective bulk shear | 00z Effective bulk shear | 03 Effective bulk shear |
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21z 0-1km SRH | 00z 0-1km SRH | 03z 0-1km SRH |
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