A storm centered between U.S. highways 183 and 281 early Thursday morning dumped significant amounts of rain on parts of central and south central Kansas, including reports of more than 3 inches in an hour in one locale, according to the National Weather Service.



The storm included reports of quarter- and golf-ball-sized hail, but not in significant amounts in most places, and there were no reports of damage from wind.



�They had very heavy rain in parts of Ellis County, Stafford County and parts of Pratt County, with a couple of little bull�s-eyes with fairly significant amounts,� said Mike Umscheid, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Dodge City.



A weather watcher near Catharine, northeast of Hays, reported the heaviest rainfall, with 5 inches of precipitation in a rain gauge, Umscheid said.



�One area 12 to 15 miles southwest of Hays had a storm that just kept rebuilding over them for the better part of 1� hours, from about a quarter to midnight, to 1:30 a.m.,� he said. �That storm produced 3 to 4 inches of rain in an hour.�



There was localized flash flooding near the Smoky River, Umscheid said.



�Along with that there was half-dollar to golf-ball-sized hail from 12:15 to 12:45 a.m. southwest of Antonino,� he said.



The Great Bend area reported anywhere from 3 to 3.84 inches, Umscheid said. Rainfall amounts lessened as the storm continued south, although St. John and Pratt both recorded more than 2.5 inches.



The Hutchinson Regional Airport recorded 1.15 inches from the storm between 2 and 7 a.m., while the city�s other official recording station reported 1.23 inches. There were also reports of 1- to 1.25-inch hail in Plevna and Hutchinson.



Other rainfall amounts reported by the National Weather Service included: 8 miles southeast of Macksville, 2.45 inches; 11 miles north-northwest of Zenith, 2.44 inches; 8 miles north of Hudson, 2.29 inches; 2 miles northeast of Kiowa, 1.9 inches; 6 miles east-northeast of Larned, 1.63 inches; Pratt Airport, 1.59 inches: 1 mile west of Sawyer, 1.51 inches; and Medicine Lodge, 1.37 inches.