Ford County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Kansas Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Ford County is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Ford County is lower than Kansas average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #48
| Ford County | 0.01 |
| 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
| Ford County | 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, #48
| Ford County | 218.96 |
| 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 17,076 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Ford County 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: | 24 | Cold: | 18 | Dense Fog: | 3 | Drought: | 38 |
| Dust Storm: | 1 | Flood: | 369 | Hail: | 10,892 | Heat: | 29 | Heavy Snow: | 101 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 37 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 187 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 4,746 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 7 | Winter Storm: | 99 | Winter Weather: | 52 |
| Other: | 473 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Ford County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Ford County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Ford County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 66 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Ford County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 10.2 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 37°37'N / 99°45'W | 37°43'N / 99°39'W | 8.80 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ford |
| 11.1 | 2001-04-10 | 2 | 37°31'N / 99°46'W | 37°38'N / 99°43'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 425K | 0 | Ford |
| Brief Description: Eight pivot sprinklers were destroyed along with a barn and silo. | |||||||||||
| 12.5 | 1959-07-10 | 2 | 37°38'N / 99°40'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ford | |||
| 12.9 | 2001-04-10 | 2 | 37°30'N / 100°11'W | 37°42'N / 100°00'W | 17.30 Miles | 380 Yards | 0 | 0 | 190K | 0 | Ford |
| Brief Description: A mobile home was completely demolished. Ironically, the occupants were not at home, only because the school activity bus was late. Another trailer nearby received moderate damage. Two pivot sprinklers were destroyed and there was other scattered minor damage along the path of the tornado. | |||||||||||
| 14.3 | 1953-05-29 | 2 | 37°29'N / 99°55'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ford | |||
| 14.8 | 2002-05-07 | 2 | 37°43'N / 99°40'W | 37°43'N / 99°34'W | 1.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Ford |
| Brief Description: This first tornado of the afternoon came close to striking a farm that was plowing his field. His tractor was running low on fuel and just made it back to shelter as irrigation pipe was flying by. Several pivots were destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 16.9 | 2002-05-07 | 3 | 37°43'N / 99°34'W | 37°40'N / 99°35'W | 4.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ford |
| Brief Description: This tornado became quite large as it moved at first to the southwest and then turned southeast. The tornado completely stripped topsoil from one field and debarked trees at a pond. Several dozen cattle were killed with several 1500 pound heifers carried 3/4 of a mile. Two other tornadoes crossed nearly the same location within an hour, which may have contributed to the scouring of the topsoil. | |||||||||||
| 17.7 | 1994-04-09 | 2 | 37°27'N / 99°46'W | 0.80 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0 | Clark | |
| Brief Description: Tornado touched down briefly and passed through the Roger Giles Farmstead. House windows were broken out, farm machinery was wrecked, and the house was moved on its foundation. All but two outbuildings on the farmstead were damaged. | |||||||||||
| 17.7 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°46'N / 99°37'W | 37°48'N / 99°33'W | 4.00 Miles | 850 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Ford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado produced EF2 damage to trees and pivot irrigation systems. It caused EF1 damage to a house and grain bin. It took down several power poles and power lines. The tornado moved into Edwards county at 22:19 CDT. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 18.0 | 1972-07-28 | 2 | 37°27'N / 100°01'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clark | |
| 18.4 | 2002-05-07 | 3 | 37°42'N / 99°33'W | 37°37'N / 99°33'W | 8.50 Miles | 1800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ford |
| Brief Description: This tornado which developed in the same general tornadoes earlier, moved southwest and then finally turned south and southeast. It grew very large and at one time was 1 mile wide. Extreme damage was done to trees and irrigation pipe. | |||||||||||
| 21.2 | 1955-06-04 | 4 | 37°29'N / 100°02'W | 38°11'N / 99°03'W | 72.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ford |
| 21.5 | 1978-05-30 | 2 | 37°54'N / 100°13'W | 37°52'N / 100°10'W | 3.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ford |
| 22.7 | 1972-05-22 | 2 | 38°00'N / 99°54'W | 38°02'N / 99°49'W | 5.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Hodgeman |
| 23.5 | 1991-05-16 | 3 | 37°56'N / 100°09'W | 38°05'N / 99°55'W | 22.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Hodgeman |
| 24.4 | 2002-05-07 | 3 | 37°41'N / 99°29'W | 37°36'N / 99°24'W | 10.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 1 | 800K | 0 | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: This tornado moved slowly east/northeast at first and then turned south/southeast striking two farms. One person was thrown from the house and into the yard. | |||||||||||
| 24.9 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°24'N / 99°33'W | 37°31'N / 99°31'W | 10.00 Miles | 2815 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This large tornado moved out of Clark county where it had done EF3 damage. In Kiowa county, EF2 damage was done to a concrete walled house. Trees also received EF2 damage. A power pole with transmission wire attached was deposited from an unknown location. The tornado turned sharply west towards the end of it's life. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 25.6 | 1955-06-17 | 2 | 37°20'N / 100°01'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Clark | |||
| 25.8 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°48'N / 99°33'W | 37°54'N / 99°22'W | 13.00 Miles | 950 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado moved out of Ford county at 22:19 CDT. It took down power poles, overturned pivot irrigation sprinklers and produced low end EF2 damage to outbuildings and a house. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 26.0 | 1955-07-13 | 2 | 37°49'N / 100°20'W | 0.30 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Gray | |
| 26.1 | 2008-05-23 | 3 | 37°20'N / 99°43'W | 37°24'N / 99°33'W | 11.00 Miles | 3170 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Clark |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This extremely large tornado (1.8 miles wide) moved east and then turned northeast towards Kiowa county. Many power poles were taken down by the tornado. It also caused EF3 damage to trees, two old houses, barns and it carried an oil tank battery 1.8 miles depositing it in trees. There was at least 20 head of cattle killed by the tornado. There was minor injuries received by a 20 year old male as he took refuge in his truck that was parked next to a baler inside a barn. The barn was completely swept away leaving the young man with cuts from broken glass. The baler that was left standing probably protected him and his truck from going airborne, if not rolling. Also, there was serious injury to a male in a semi on highway 34 in the vicinity of 37.3327 N, 99.6344 W probably by the RFD. Two other semis parked at this location rolled over but no injuries were sustained by the drivers. This extremely large tornado moved into Kiowa county. The radar signature was eerily similar to the Greensburg tornado that occurred on May 4, 2007. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 28.4 | 1968-06-13 | 2 | 38°06'N / 99°54'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Hodgeman | |||
| 30.9 | 2009-04-18 | 2 | 38°01'N / 100°15'W | 38°04'N / 100°13'W | 3.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Finney |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This was a multiple vortex tornado that heavily damaged a farm that included outbuildings and some damage to the home itself. There was also some tree damage. The tornado moved slowly and steadily into Hodgeman county at 224 PM CDT. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms developed under a cold core upper low and were capable or producing tornadoes and hail. Some of the hail was deep enough on the highway in Finney county in the vicinity of Kalvesta the the Department of Transportation had to get snow plows out to clear the highway. | |||||||||||
| 31.2 | 2005-06-09 | 2 | 37°19'N / 100°20'W | 37°24'N / 100°13'W | 9.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Meade |
| Brief Description: This tornado damaged outbuilds, trees and center pivot sprinklers. | |||||||||||
| 31.5 | 1978-05-30 | 2 | 38°00'N / 100°30'W | 37°54'N / 100°13'W | 16.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gray |
| 32.0 | 1959-09-17 | 2 | 38°09'N / 99°56'W | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Hodgeman | |||
| 32.3 | 1971-05-09 | 3 | 38°00'N / 99°31'W | 37°59'N / 99°21'W | 9.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Edwards |
| 32.4 | 1970-06-13 | 3 | 37°57'N / 99°28'W | 38°03'N / 99°25'W | 7.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Edwards |
| 32.4 | 2007-05-04 | 5 | 37°23'N / 99°22'W | 37°37'N / 99°19'W | 26.00 Miles | 3000 Yards | 11 | 63 | 250.0M | 0K | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This killer tornado started in Comanche county and crossed into Kiowa county at 2003 CST / 2103 CDT. It curved north then northwest before making a complete loop northwest of Greensburg. Thus, the path was 25.8 miles. This tornado destroyed nearly 95 percent of the town of Greensburg and despite adequate warning, unfortunately took the life of 11 people, some that were in basements. First responders arriving on the scene requested three refrigerated refer trucks thinking there would be hundreds of fatalities. It also destroyed a dozen homes and a church south of Greensburg but did not cause injury. In all, 961 homes and businesses were destroyed, 216 received major damage and 307 received minor damage. As the tornado was dissipating it turned northwest, west, south and then back east making a loop. This was documented on both high resolution doppler radar and through the ground survey. Also as the tornado was dissipating a new circulation quickly grew northeast of town. Several oil storage tanks were destroyed causing an environmental concern. In the town of Greensburg, hazardous material was strewn everywhere. As of July 26th, the debris was still not fully cleaned up. Two landfills were filled with debris from the town and this was even as most was burned. Hundreds of thousands of dump truck loads were taken out. It was estimated that approximately 400,000 cubic yards of debris was removed. The major highway running through town was closed for 1 full month. At one time there were over 150 law enforcement officers (from all over the country) present. Military was called in for debris removal and rebuilding. Damage of insured losses exceeded $150 million, but including un-insured losses, was roughly 250 million dollars. **** NOTE **** The 11th victim passed away on September 19th, 2007 after a long battle with a head injury sustained during the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A destructive tornado, the first 5 rating on the new Enhanced-Fujita Scale and the first 5 classification since May 3, 1999 when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma occurred on this day. There were 12 tornadoes during about a 4 hour period, one a little over 2 miles wide! Two of the tornadoes existed for over 1 hour as they churned up the ground, leveling homes and causing fatalities along their path. Miraculously, on 13 people perished, 11 in Greensburg - a miracle because over 90 percent of the town of Greensburg was literately wiped off the face of the earth. Another round of tornadoes occurred the following day across generally the same area. Nearly 250 pivot irrigation sprinklers were damaged or destroyed during the 2 day outbreak. Due to the number of sprinklers involved and the lack of replacements, some farmers would be out of service for over 1 year. | |||||||||||
| 33.2 | 2004-03-27 | 3 | 37°58'N / 99°29'W | 38°05'N / 99°25'W | 8.50 Miles | 1300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 480K | 50K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: This tornado became very large and dusty. Several farms were hit with minor damage to other outbuildings across it's path. One farm sustained a direct hit. Five equipment buildings were destroyed and the house was knocked from it's foundation. Trees were mangled and debarked. A stock trailer was blown 3/4 of a mile from it's original location and an oil tank was rolled .3 of a mile. A stack of hay bales was demolished with the remnants piled 10 feet thick in a grove of trees. One large cedar tree was carried about a mile. As the tornado was dissipating, it crossed into Pawnee county at a location 12 miles north of Kinsley. | |||||||||||
| 33.2 | 1982-03-19 | 2 | 37°37'N / 100°40'W | 37°49'N / 100°19'W | 24.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gray |
| 33.6 | 1972-04-30 | 4 | 38°05'N / 100°06'W | 38°16'N / 99°43'W | 24.30 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Hodgeman |
| 33.8 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°55'N / 99°23'W | 38°00'N / 99°21'W | 5.00 Miles | 125 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: EF2 damage was done to trees and a barn and two pivot sprinklers received EF1 damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 34.0 | 2007-03-28 | 3 | 38°04'N / 100°04'W | 38°16'N / 100°00'W | 13.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 210K | 0K | Hodgeman |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This large tornado destroyed three homes and did damage to one other. Hundreds of power poles were broken along with a handful of pivot irrigation sprinklers and barns. Trees also sustained major damage. There were also at least 50 head of cattle dead from this tornado in Hodgeman county. Parts of the debris from a shed were found 40 miles north. A wedding book registry was found intact 34 miles from the original location in a home that was destroyed. This tornado continued into Ness county at 925 PM CDT. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Major tornado outbreak and severe weather swept across parts of western Kansas. Fortunately, there were no injuries or fatalities despite major destruction. | |||||||||||
| 34.2 | 1958-07-26 | 2 | 38°02'N / 99°26'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Edwards | |
| 34.7 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°22'N / 99°24'W | 37°26'N / 99°20'W | 6.00 Miles | 760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado moved out of Comanche county and did EF2 damage to trees and power poles. It crossed the path of the tornado that occurred on May 4, 2007. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 35.2 | 1996-05-26 | 3 | 37°38'N / 100°39'W | 37°52'N / 100°24'W | 22.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.0M | 150K | Gray |
| Brief Description: The thunderstorm that produced the F2 tornado in Seward and Haskell counties spun up an even bigger tornado further into Haskell and Gray counties. The tornado took a few trees in Haskell county. In Gray county...34 irrigation sprinklers systems were damaged or destroyed...power poles were snapped...2 houses were damaged...a barn was destroyed...a truck overturned...flood irrigation pipe was tossed like match sticks. In fact...one witness reported the 30 foot pieces of pipe were 4 or 5 hundred feet in the air. In addition...3 inch high corn plants were completely removed...leaving the field bare. Several people video taping the tornado were chased by the tornado...only to take shelter under a bridge. The tornado passed about 1/2 mile east of them while they watched 5 inch diameter hail pound the ground. | |||||||||||
| 36.3 | 1954-06-10 | 2 | 38°06'N / 100°18'W | 7.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Finney | |
| 37.2 | 1950-05-24 | 2 | 37°16'N / 99°29'W | 37°17'N / 99°25'W | 3.60 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Comanche |
| 38.2 | 1973-03-13 | 2 | 37°21'N / 99°20'W | 37°23'N / 99°18'W | 2.30 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Comanche |
| 38.4 | 2007-05-04 | 2 | 37°37'N / 99°15'W | 37°43'N / 99°07'W | 10.00 Miles | 3344 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This monster tornado formed as the Greensburg tornado was dissipating and quickly grew into a nearly 2 mile wide tornado. Two farms received strong EF3 damage and destroyed several pieces of machinery. A combine was thrown at least 1/4 of a mile and it disintegrated upon impact. Numerous pivot irrigation sprinklers were destroyed, along with trees and power lines. The tornado moved into Edwards county at 2131 CST. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A destructive tornado, the first 5 rating on the new Enhanced-Fujita Scale and the first 5 classification since May 3, 1999 when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma occurred on this day. There were 12 tornadoes during about a 4 hour period, one a little over 2 miles wide! Two of the tornadoes existed for over 1 hour as they churned up the ground, leveling homes and causing fatalities along their path. Miraculously, on 13 people perished, 11 in Greensburg - a miracle because over 90 percent of the town of Greensburg was literately wiped off the face of the earth. Another round of tornadoes occurred the following day across generally the same area. Nearly 250 pivot irrigation sprinklers were damaged or destroyed during the 2 day outbreak. Due to the number of sprinklers involved and the lack of replacements, some farmers would be out of service for over 1 year. | |||||||||||
| 38.4 | 1972-05-22 | 2 | 38°11'N / 100°05'W | 38°17'N / 99°58'W | 9.40 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Hodgeman |
| 39.4 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 37°06'N / 100°05'W | 37°11'N / 100°06'W | 5.70 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meade |
| 39.8 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 37°08'N / 99°31'W | 37°49'N / 98°54'W | 58.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Comanche |
| 39.9 | 1965-05-07 | 2 | 38°06'N / 100°24'W | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Finney | |||
| 40.2 | 1955-06-17 | 2 | 37°15'N / 100°22'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Meade | |||
| 40.3 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 37°48'N / 99°18'W | 38°01'N / 99°06'W | 18.50 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Edwards |
| 40.8 | 1970-06-13 | 2 | 38°08'N / 99°31'W | 38°15'N / 99°28'W | 8.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 42.0 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 38°06'N / 99°29'W | 38°19'N / 99°29'W | 14.90 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 42.2 | 1964-04-19 | 2 | 38°16'N / 100°08'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Hodgeman | |||
| 42.3 | 1972-04-30 | 4 | 38°16'N / 99°43'W | 38°18'N / 99°41'W | 2.30 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ness |
| 42.7 | 2007-05-04 | 3 | 37°43'N / 99°07'W | 37°54'N / 99°07'W | 13.00 Miles | 3872 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.5M | 0K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This 2.2 wide monster moved out of Kiowa county at 2231 CST. It caused high end EF3 damage to farms, trees, machinery, pivot sprinklers and power lines. It killed dozens of cattle and horses. As the tornado dissipated, it curved back to the west. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A destructive tornado, the first 5 rating on the new Enhanced-Fujita Scale and the first 5 classification since May 3, 1999 when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma occurred on this day. There were 12 tornadoes during about a 4 hour period, one a little over 2 miles wide! Two of the tornadoes existed for over 1 hour as they churned up the ground, leveling homes and causing fatalities along their path. Miraculously, on 13 people perished, 11 in Greensburg - a miracle because over 90 percent of the town of Greensburg was literately wiped off the face of the earth. Another round of tornadoes occurred the following day across generally the same area. Nearly 250 pivot irrigation sprinklers were damaged or destroyed during the 2 day outbreak. Due to the number of sprinklers involved and the lack of replacements, some farmers would be out of service for over 1 year. | |||||||||||
| 42.8 | 1960-05-23 | 2 | 38°01'N / 100°33'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Finney | |||
| 44.1 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 37°48'N / 99°06'W | 37°49'N / 99°05'W | 3.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Damage was done to trees and pivot irrigation sprinklers. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Unbelievably, an outbreak of tornadoes, some very large in size, raked the earth in basically the same area as the day before when Greensburg was nearly completely leveled. Although some of the tornadoes were large and apparently very strong, there was no loss of life on this day. A National Weather Service assessment team was in an area about 30 minutes before a tornado moved through. They also saw one tornado during the storm survey of damage that was produced the day before. | |||||||||||
| 44.1 | 1962-05-20 | 2 | 37°26'N / 99°05'W | 37°48'N / 99°05'W | 25.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Kiowa |
| 45.2 | 1988-05-02 | 2 | 38°12'N / 99°25'W | 38°12'N / 99°19'W | 5.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 45.7 | 1978-05-30 | 2 | 38°04'N / 100°42'W | 38°00'N / 100°30'W | 11.70 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Finney |
| 46.3 | 1965-05-07 | 2 | 37°57'N / 100°40'W | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Finney | |||
| 47.3 | 1958-06-21 | 2 | 37°16'N / 100°35'W | 37°09'N / 100°25'W | 12.20 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meade |
| 47.4 | 1958-06-12 | 2 | 37°59'N / 99°06'W | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Edwards | |||
| 47.9 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°45'N / 99°02'W | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 5.00 Miles | 1935 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Edwards |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This large tornado did EF2 damage to trees, pivot irrigation sprinklers, power poles and grain bins. EF1 damage was done to one home and EF2 damage was done to another. The center of the tornado moved to the intersection of Edwards, Pratt and Stafford counties. At that point, because of it's width, it was covering all those counties at once. Technically the tornado moved into Pratt county (see that entry). EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 47.9 | 2007-03-28 | 3 | 38°15'N / 100°02'W | 38°29'N / 100°06'W | 16.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 325K | 0K | Ness |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado originated in Hodgeman county and entered Ness county at 925 PM. This large tornado destroyed or heavily damaged 5 homes in Ness county. Hundreds of power poles were broken along with 7 pivot irrigation sprinklers and lots of damage to trees. There were also at least 20 head of cattle dead from this tornado in Ness county. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Major tornado outbreak and severe weather swept across parts of western Kansas. Fortunately, there were no injuries or fatalities despite major destruction. | |||||||||||
| 48.8 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 37°46'N / 99°00'W | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 4.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Pratt |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado did EF2 damage to farms, trees and pivot irrigation sprinklers. It occurred in very close proximately to a tornado less than 24 hours earlier (less than 1/2 of a mile). It into the county from Edwards county and then moved into Stafford county at 1842 CST. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Unbelievably, an outbreak of tornadoes, some very large in size, raked the earth in basically the same area as the day before when Greensburg was nearly completely leveled. Although some of the tornadoes were large and apparently very strong, there was no loss of life on this day. A National Weather Service assessment team was in an area about 30 minutes before a tornado moved through. They also saw one tornado during the storm survey of damage that was produced the day before. | |||||||||||
| 48.9 | 1994-04-09 | 2 | 37°09'N / 100°46'W | 37°16'N / 100°19'W | 7.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 0 | 8 | 50K | 0 | Seward |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down 3.5 WSW of Kismet at 1535 CST and moved ENE across Highway 54 and east into Meade County where it ended at 1610 CST at a point one southeast of Meade. Speed of movement was 35 mph with total path length of 26 miles. In Seward County the tornado struck a car and mobile home 2 E of Kismet at 1540 CST. Two adults were in the car and one adult and five children were in the mobile home. All eight sustained minor injuries and the mobile home was demolished. The tornado had a maximum path width of 1,000 yards in Seward County, but expanded to a maximum width of a mile southeast of Plains in Meade County. | |||||||||||
| 49.1 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 1056 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Pratt |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This large tornado moved out of Edwards county and did EF2 damage to a house, a pivot irrigation sprinkler and to trees. It then moved into Stafford county at 925 PM CDT. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
| 49.7 | 2008-05-23 | 3 | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 37°57'N / 99°01'W | 9.00 Miles | 1900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This large tornado moved out of Pratt county and did EF3 damage before moving into Edwards county. EF3 damage was done to trees and a pivot sprinkler. Other pivot sprinklers received EF1-2 damage along with EF2 damage done to a house and grain bins. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An anonymously strong upper level system allowed everything to come together at the surface to produced what is perhaps the biggest tornado outbreak to ever occur in the Dodge City CWA! Fifty-five tornadoes were documented during that afternoon and evening! Some of the tornadoes were very large and damaging. The character of the supercell thunderstorms that day had similarities to the storms that produced the Greensburg tornado a little over a year after. In fact there was one tornado that was just as large and perhaps could have been just as damaging that was headed towards the small Kiowa county town but fortunately turned and dissipated. | |||||||||||
* 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.