Dorrance, KS Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Dorrance is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Dorrance is lower than Kansas average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #249
| Dorrance, KS | 0.02 |
| Kansas | 0.05 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Dorrance, KS | 0.0000 |
| Kansas | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #397
| Dorrance, KS | 223.30 |
| Kansas | 252.53 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 4,339 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Dorrance, KS were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 9 | Cold: | 11 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 4 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 145 | Hail: | 2,469 | Heat: | 12 | Heavy Snow: | 46 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 16 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 58 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,396 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 69 | Winter Weather: | 26 |
| Other: | 77 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Dorrance, KS.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Dorrance, KS.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Dorrance, KS.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 65 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Dorrance, KS.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 5.8 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 38°51'N / 98°37'W | 39°00'N / 98°29'W | 12.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Russell |
| 12.1 | 1964-06-12 | 2 | 38°42'N / 98°48'W | 38°52'N / 98°48'W | 11.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 13.6 | 1952-08-07 | 3 | 39°00'N / 98°31'W | 39°03'N / 98°27'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Russell |
| 14.2 | 1964-05-05 | 2 | 38°34'N / 98°36'W | 38°43'N / 98°33'W | 10.60 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Barton |
| 16.7 | 1974-08-30 | 2 | 38°44'N / 98°55'W | 38°46'N / 98°50'W | 4.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 18.4 | 1954-04-25 | 2 | 38°37'N / 98°25'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ellsworth | |||
| 19.5 | 1964-06-12 | 2 | 38°31'N / 98°46'W | 38°42'N / 98°48'W | 12.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Barton |
| 19.6 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 39°00'N / 98°29'W | 39°13'N / 98°25'W | 15.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 20.4 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 38°32'N / 98°33'W | 38°35'N / 98°28'W | 5.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellsworth |
| 21.5 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 38°31'N / 98°28'W | 38°36'N / 98°25'W | 6.10 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Rice |
| 21.8 | 1975-05-27 | 3 | 38°32'N / 98°38'W | 0.50 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barton | |
| 23.0 | 1964-06-10 | 2 | 38°31'N / 98°32'W | 0.50 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barton | |
| 23.4 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 38°31'N / 98°31'W | 38°31'N / 98°28'W | 2.30 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Barton |
| 23.4 | 1964-08-31 | 2 | 38°55'N / 99°01'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Russell | |||
| 23.8 | 2001-04-21 | 4 | 38°30'N / 98°47'W | 38°34'N / 98°46'W | 5.00 Miles | 660 Yards | 1 | 28 | 43.0M | 0 | Barton |
| Brief Description: Initial touchdown occurred 1 mile southwest of Hoisington. The tornado rapidly achieved F3 intensity as it entered the west side of town. Moving northeast around 20 mph, the tornado intensified to F4 within 2-3 minutes. While crossing northwest Hoisington, the tornado inflicted a path about 2 miles long and about 2 blocks wide of almost complete destruction. Damage summary: 182 homes destroyed, 52 homes with major damage, 180 homes with minor to moderate damage, 12 businesses destroyed, tore the roof off the hospital, and severed power to most (if not all) areas on the northwest and north sides of town. As the tornado exited through the north side of town it weakened rapidly, inflicting F1-F2 damage as it approached Deception Creek which runs in a southeast to northwest manner 3 miles northeast of town. Once the tornado crossed the creek, it suddenly turned toward the northwest where it damaged two farmsteads shortly before dissipating. One man, 69 years of age, was killed when a minivan fell on him. There were 28 injuries of which 3 were critical. M69PH | |||||||||||
| 24.9 | 1990-05-24 | 3 | 38°29'N / 98°27'W | 38°32'N / 98°25'W | 6.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Rice |
| 25.2 | 1990-05-24 | 3 | 38°32'N / 98°25'W | 38°38'N / 98°07'W | 16.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ellsworth |
| 25.8 | 1964-04-22 | 3 | 38°16'N / 98°38'W | 38°42'N / 98°20'W | 34.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barton |
| 26.5 | 1972-04-30 | 2 | 38°35'N / 98°14'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellsworth | |
| 26.7 | 1990-05-24 | 3 | 38°27'N / 98°33'W | 38°29'N / 98°27'W | 4.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Barton |
| 27.7 | 1971-06-09 | 2 | 38°28'N / 98°24'W | 38°30'N / 98°21'W | 3.60 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Rice |
| 27.7 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 39°13'N / 98°25'W | 39°14'N / 98°25'W | 1.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 27.8 | 1960-05-24 | 2 | 38°47'N / 99°06'W | 0.30 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ellis | |
| 28.3 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 39°14'N / 98°57'W | 39°14'N / 98°35'W | 19.60 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Osborne |
| 28.7 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 38°21'N / 98°34'W | 38°31'N / 98°31'W | 11.70 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Barton |
| 29.8 | 1954-10-11 | 3 | 38°56'N / 99°13'W | 38°56'N / 99°03'W | 8.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellis |
| 32.9 | 1966-08-06 | 2 | 38°24'N / 98°48'W | 0.20 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Barton | |
| 32.9 | 1968-05-13 | 3 | 39°13'N / 99°02'W | 39°17'N / 98°48'W | 13.10 Miles | 320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Osborne |
| 34.5 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 38°22'N / 98°46'W | 0.60 Mile | 147 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Barton | |
| 35.6 | 1980-10-16 | 3 | 38°49'N / 99°15'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ellis | |||
| 36.5 | 1950-05-04 | 4 | 38°16'N / 98°55'W | 38°27'N / 98°47'W | 14.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 37.4 | 1964-06-10 | 2 | 38°28'N / 99°05'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Rush | |||
| 37.7 | 1990-05-24 | 3 | 38°30'N / 98°11'W | 38°31'N / 97°54'W | 12.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Ellsworth |
| 37.7 | 1964-08-31 | 3 | 38°48'N / 99°19'W | 38°55'N / 99°16'W | 8.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellis |
| 38.6 | 1956-07-15 | 3 | 39°12'N / 98°06'W | 39°12'N / 97°58'W | 7.10 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 39.1 | 1968-05-13 | 3 | 39°08'N / 99°20'W | 39°13'N / 99°02'W | 16.90 Miles | 320 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Rooks |
| 39.1 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°20'N / 98°20'W | 39°24'N / 98°16'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 39.5 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°23'N / 98°28'W | 39°26'N / 98°26'W | 3.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 39.9 | 1970-05-08 | 2 | 39°02'N / 97°58'W | 39°09'N / 97°52'W | 9.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 40.0 | 1972-08-02 | 2 | 38°53'N / 99°20'W | 0.20 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ellis | |
| 40.1 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 39°23'N / 98°42'W | 39°28'N / 98°37'W | 8.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 11 | 150K | 50K | Osborne |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado sat down south of Osborne and moved north into town. The twister destroyed 2 mobile homes, damaged roofs, fences, cars and windows, and damaged 2 restaurants. The Pizza Hut sustained minor damage and several employees??? car windows were blown out. Across the road, the Circle Inn lost a large part of their roof, a couple of outside walls, and substantial damage happened to the interior portion of the restaurant. A couple of semi-trailers were blown around and one ended up on top of another car. Eleven people were injured, none seriously, and were treated at the Osborne County Memorial Hospital. The Osborne County Sheriff's office reported the most severe injury was a broken arm. (sources: Osborne County Farmer newspaper, Osborne County Sheriff's office, and the Osborne County Emergency Management Agency). EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms rumbled across northern Kansas. A few became severe in the early evening hours. One produced a tornado in Osborne. This tornado damaged homes and two restaurants in town. Other storms in Mitchell and Jewell Counties produced hail to the size of quarters. | |||||||||||
| 40.2 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 39°21'N / 98°29'W | 39°28'N / 98°18'W | 12.60 Miles | 660 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 40.9 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°24'N / 98°24'W | 39°26'N / 98°22'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 41.7 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°23'N / 98°14'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 41.8 | 1955-06-04 | 3 | 38°15'N / 98°25'W | 38°17'N / 98°19'W | 5.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Rice |
| 41.9 | 1954-03-11 | 2 | 39°27'N / 98°41'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Osborne | |||
| 42.5 | 1972-04-30 | 2 | 38°55'N / 99°23'W | 39°04'N / 99°20'W | 10.50 Miles | 127 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellis |
| 42.9 | 1962-05-28 | 2 | 38°18'N / 98°58'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Barton | |
| 43.5 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°24'N / 98°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 43.7 | 1960-05-24 | 2 | 39°26'N / 98°17'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mitchell | |||
| 44.5 | 1992-06-15 | 3 | 39°25'N / 98°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 44.6 | 1998-10-16 | 3 | 38°47'N / 99°34'W | 39°01'N / 99°16'W | 23.00 Miles | 1300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.2M | 0 | Ellis |
| Brief Description: Tornado that began in eastern Trego county, steadily moved northeast before dissipating north of Hays. The tornado hit several farms in rural Ellis county and slammed into sparsely populated Yocemento. After leaving Yocemento, the tornado tore through a feedyard and on across other parts of rural Ellis county. Fortunately, the tornado stayed just west and north of populated Hays where a high school football game was in progress. The tornado damaged or destroyed 10 homes, a grain elevator, many outbuildings, a tractor and a feedlot. During the weaker moments of the tornado, it moved a 14,000 pound tractor 30 yards. One modular constructed home on a concrete slab was completely destroyed with the remains carried 1/2 of a mile. A steel I-beam from a concrete building travelled several hundred yards, eventually crashing into a grain elevator. Three empty anhydrous ammonia tanks were moved causing a leak of a benign amount of vapour. An injury occurred to a male driving a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 70. | |||||||||||
| 44.7 | 1951-06-21 | 2 | 38°32'N / 99°19'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Rush | |||
| 45.1 | 1968-06-18 | 3 | 38°30'N / 99°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 220 Yards | 0 | 8 | 250K | 0 | Rush | |
| 45.3 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 38°21'N / 98°01'W | 38°37'N / 97°46'W | 22.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Rice |
| 45.3 | 1992-06-15 | 4 | 39°25'N / 98°13'W | 39°26'N / 98°10'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 45.8 | 1973-03-13 | 2 | 39°14'N / 99°17'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Rooks | |
| 45.9 | 1990-04-25 | 3 | 38°47'N / 99°33'W | 39°07'N / 99°19'W | 23.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Ellis |
| 45.9 | 2001-04-21 | 2 | 38°23'N / 99°12'W | 38°23'N / 99°12'W | 1.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Rush |
| Brief Description: Two farms received heavy damage (grain bins, roofs, shed and vehicle) | |||||||||||
| 47.0 | 1973-09-25 | 2 | 38°32'N / 97°49'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mcpherson | |||
| 47.2 | 1972-07-27 | 2 | 39°15'N / 99°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Rooks | |
| 47.4 | 1964-06-12 | 2 | 39°30'N / 98°26'W | 39°32'N / 98°22'W | 4.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 47.8 | 2001-04-10 | 2 | 38°56'N / 99°35'W | 39°07'N / 99°19'W | 19.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Ellis |
| Brief Description: A tornado moved in from Trego county at 2209 and moved into Rooks county at 2238. It took out 50 power poles in Ellis county and damaged 13 farms. Roofs were removed on several homes and there was extensive damage done to several outbuildings and trailers. Two semis were overturned on I-70 west of Ellis causing several minor injuries. Reports of the infamous "roar" were noted in the Ellis community. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1972-05-22 | 2 | 38°56'N / 99°29'W | 0.50 Mile | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ellis | |
| 49.2 | 2008-05-29 | 2 | 39°28'N / 98°19'W | 39°34'N / 98°14'W | 8.00 Miles | 2000 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 500K | Mitchell |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado started near Glen Elder Dam in Mitchell County and moved northeast. It crossed into Jewell County about 4 miles west of Highway 14. Eye witness accounts stated that this tornado combined near the dam with a tornado that had formed to the southwest in Osborne County. Just to the east of the dam, the tornado damaged several outbuildings at a farmstead and uprooted many trees. Power lines and trees were snapped off when the twister crossed US Highway 24 to the east of the town of Glen Elder. Large power poles were broken and another farmstead sustained extensive damage just before the tornado moved into Jewell County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A significant severe weather outbreak occurred during the afternoon and evening of May 29th. Several tornadoes were reported from south of Palco in Rooks County to community of Jewell in Jewell County. On tornado inflected significant damage to the community of Jewell, including destroying the town???s caf?? and water tower. Several homes in rural areas of Mitchell and Jewell Counties were damaged or destroyed. The town of Woodston in eastern Rooks County also had a twister move through the community; luckily damage was not as severe. All together eight tornadoes occurred in this part of north-central Kansas and no critical injuries were reported. Other areas of north-central Kansas also saw hail and heavy rains from the storms. An area between Webster Lake and Stockton in Rooks County had hail up to the size of baseballs. The hail damaged windows and siding of homes along the storms path. In addition to the tornadoes, hail and wind, thunderstorms dumped several inches of rain across the Solomon River valleys. This resulted in some flooding of rural roads and area creeks and rivers. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.