Event narrative (NOAA)
Torrential rains of 6-8 inches, occurring in about 3 hours, caused flash flooding of Jacob Creek along I-35, the Kansas Turnpike, near milepost 116, 12 miles southwest of Emporia. The exceptionally heavy rains turned what had been a nearly dry creek into a raging river that surged almost due north at a rate of about 4,100 cubic feet per second. The creek overflowed across the northeast bound lanes and against a concrete median separating the northeast bound from the southwest bound lanes. The median consisted of 10 cement barriers, each 20 feet long and weighing 10,000-20,000 pounds. The water pressure built to the point that the median suddenly broke, allowing 6 to 7 feet of water to surge in a mini tsunami-like manner across the rest of the interstate.Seven vehicles were swept off the tu
Other notable flash flood events in Kansas
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.