Jamestown, KS Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Jamestown is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Jamestown is higher than Kansas average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #125
| Jamestown, KS | 0.04 |
| 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
| Jamestown, 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, #222
| Jamestown, KS | 269.92 |
| 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 3,910 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Jamestown, 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: | 8 | Cold: | 22 | Dense Fog: | 9 | Drought: | 6 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 161 | Hail: | 2,303 | Heat: | 26 | Heavy Snow: | 36 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 21 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 34 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,102 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 88 | Winter Weather: | 23 |
| Other: | 70 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Jamestown, KS.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Jamestown, KS.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Jamestown, KS.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 88 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Jamestown, KS.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 3.1 | 2004-05-29 | 2 | 39°37'N / 97°56'W | 39°38'N / 97°53'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.1M | 0 | Cloud |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down 4 miles westnorthwest of Jamestown and moved eastnorteast before dissipating 3 miles northnorthwest of Jamestown. Large trees and power poles were downed. A number of farms along the route had significant damage. | |||||||||||
| 5.8 | 1952-05-21 | 2 | 39°41'N / 97°52'W | 0.20 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Republic | |
| 9.0 | 1967-06-09 | 2 | 39°27'N / 97°55'W | 39°31'N / 97°39'W | 14.80 Miles | 1320 Yards | 1 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Cloud |
| 9.4 | 2008-04-24 | 2 | 39°31'N / 98°07'W | 39°33'N / 97°55'W | 11.00 Miles | 1050 Yards | 0 | 0 | 750K | 500K | Mitchell |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado sat down north of Beloit near highway 14 and traveled eastward. Several homes, farmsteads, outbuildings and trees were damaged along the tornadoes path. For the first 4 miles of the damage path, the tornado was rated at EF2 with EF0 damage seen through the rest of the county. The tornado exited Mitchell County northeast of Scottsville and entered Cloud County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours across north-central Kansas and produced large hail, strong winds and heavy rains. Hail up to the size of softballs was reported west of Stockton where windows were broken, roofs and siding damaged and crops pummeled. A couple of brief tornados were reported to have touched down in Rooks County. One was south of Stockton and the other was near Woodston. No damage occurred with these. There were other reports of hail, mainly up to the size of golf balls, and wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph reported across the area. A tornado touched down north of Beloit in Mitchell County and traveled east. Several houses, outbuildings, grain bins, trees and power poles were damaged along the it???s path. This tornado crossed into Cloud County. | |||||||||||
| 11.7 | 1960-11-27 | 3 | 39°33'N / 97°39'W | 2.00 Miles | 167 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Cloud | |
| 11.9 | 1968-05-13 | 2 | 39°30'N / 98°06'W | 39°32'N / 98°01'W | 4.70 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 13.4 | 1957-05-20 | 2 | 39°31'N / 97°38'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Cloud | |||
| 13.4 | 1957-05-20 | 2 | 39°31'N / 97°38'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Cloud | |||
| 14.4 | 1967-06-09 | 2 | 39°24'N / 98°06'W | 39°27'N / 97°55'W | 10.20 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Mitchell |
| 14.6 | 1955-06-04 | 4 | 39°31'N / 98°32'W | 40°00'N / 97°33'W | 61.90 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Osborne |
| 15.2 | 1957-05-20 | 2 | 39°28'N / 97°38'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Cloud | |||
| 16.1 | 1990-03-13 | 2 | 39°43'N / 97°51'W | 39°55'N / 97°39'W | 15.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Republic |
| 16.9 | 2008-05-29 | 3 | 39°34'N / 98°14'W | 39°42'N / 98°07'W | 11.00 Miles | 2000 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5.0M | 1.0M | Jewell |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado moved out of Mitchell County and into Jewell County about 4 miles west of Highway 14. As the tornado moved northeast and was southwest of the town of Jewell, it hit three farmsteads and severely damaged the homes and outbuildings at these locations. One of the homes was completely destroyed and other had a machine shed also destroyed. Trees and power poles and lines were also damaged along its path. The tornado entered the southwest side of community of Jewell and moved across the west side of town. Several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. The Jewell Caf?? and the Bourbon Trucking Company were destroyed. The town???s water tower was also blown down by the tornado. The tornado lifted about two miles northeast of town. Luckily no injuries were reported. 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. | |||||||||||
| 17.9 | 1957-05-20 | 3 | 39°34'N / 97°34'W | 39°38'N / 97°29'W | 6.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Cloud |
| 18.8 | 1967-06-09 | 2 | 39°31'N / 97°39'W | 39°39'N / 97°22'W | 17.50 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cloud |
| 19.0 | 1976-04-14 | 2 | 39°46'N / 98°13'W | 39°53'N / 97°55'W | 17.70 Miles | 330 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jewell |
| 19.6 | 2008-05-29 | 3 | 39°43'N / 97°55'W | 40°00'N / 97°30'W | 30.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0K | Republic |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado crossed from Jewell County into Republic County 4 miles South Southwest of Courtland. There, tree damage was noted, and several outbuildings were destroyed at a residence. An old rock home was also destroyed. Significant tree, power pole, and power line damage was reported along the path. Several of these trees had been uprooted and thrown for several hundred feet. Irrigation units were destroyed. Several homes, a newspaper reported at least six, were damaged along the path. The home that sustained the most significant damage had portions of the roof removed, and it's eastern wall blown out. Barns, outbuildings, and grain bins were destroyed at the residence as well. The old Union Valley Schoolhouse was demolished, and several headstones and trees in the Union Valley Cemetary were blown down. The tornado was rated EF-3 when it entered the county. Local Emergency Management reported that several residents had to be rescued after the tornado because of debris and damage to their homes. Highway 36 was closed through Friday morning because of power poles and power lines on the roadway. Between Hwy 81 and a point two miles south of the state line along the path, EF-2 damage was surveyed. Thereafter, EF-1 damage was noted. The tornado exited Republic County and entered Thayer County 5 miles west northwest of Narka. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A supercell that tracked across much of north central Kansas spawned a long-lived tornado that tracked from Jewell County, KS (Hastings CWA) into Republic County, KS (Topeka CWA) into Thayer County, NE (Hastings CWA) and finally into Jefferson County, NE (Omaha CWA) before dissipating. The bulk of the damage that occurred in Republic County happened within a few minutes of crossing the county line. Damage there was rated EF-3. Six residences were reported to have been significantly damaged. A few residents of these homes needed to be rescued, as they were trapped by debris. Other damage occurred to trees, power lines, and farm related buildings. | |||||||||||
| 19.8 | 1961-05-31 | 2 | 39°49'N / 97°37'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Republic | |||
| 20.2 | 1953-05-09 | 3 | 39°48'N / 97°54'W | 39°59'N / 97°48'W | 13.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Republic |
| 20.6 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°47'N / 98°10'W | 1.50 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Jewell | |
| 20.7 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 39°34'N / 98°18'W | 39°38'N / 98°12'W | 6.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Jewell |
| 21.1 | 1957-05-20 | 4 | 39°23'N / 97°44'W | 39°53'N / 97°12'W | 44.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cloud |
| 21.3 | 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 |
| 21.4 | 2004-05-22 | 2 | 39°54'N / 97°51'W | 39°55'N / 97°49'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 90K | 0 | Republic |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down at the Pawnee Indian Museum and damaged a roof to the museum building before moving 2 miles and lifting at the edge of Republic. Along the tornado's path a windmill was destroyed, power lines were downed, and 3 center pivoting irrigation systems were damaged. A one ton granite memorial at the Pawnee Indian Museum was moved 8 feet off the foundation. | |||||||||||
| 22.0 | 1992-06-15 | 3 | 39°25'N / 98°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 22.1 | 1992-06-15 | 3 | 39°17'N / 97°50'W | 39°17'N / 97°46'W | 3.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ottawa |
| 22.7 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°24'N / 98°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 22.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 24.1 | 1976-04-14 | 2 | 39°53'N / 97°55'W | 40°00'N / 97°38'W | 17.00 Miles | 330 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Republic |
| 24.3 | 1973-09-25 | 2 | 39°18'N / 97°36'W | 39°21'N / 97°33'W | 4.30 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cloud |
| 24.8 | 1992-06-15 | 2 | 39°23'N / 98°14'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell | |
| 25.2 | 1986-09-18 | 3 | 39°56'N / 97°59'W | 39°59'N / 97°55'W | 5.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jewell |
| 25.2 | 1960-05-24 | 2 | 39°26'N / 98°17'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mitchell | |||
| 26.0 | 2003-06-22 | 2 | 39°57'N / 97°47'W | 39°59'N / 97°43'W | 4.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 0 | 80K | 0 | Republic |
| Brief Description: A tornado struck 3 miles northeast of Republic and moved northeast 4 miles and destroyed a house in its path before it dissipated near the Nebraska border. Thunderstorms developed over Republic county the evening of the 22nd and persisted into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds along with several tornadoes (discussed separately) were the result. The persistance of the thunderstorms in the same location led to flash flooding in Republic County as well as the Republican River to flood and do considerable crop damage. | |||||||||||
| 27.9 | 1986-09-18 | 3 | 39°59'N / 97°55'W | 40°01'N / 97°56'W | 1.00 Mile | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Republic |
| 28.4 | 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 |
| 29.1 | 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 |
| 29.2 | 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 |
| 29.6 | 1986-09-18 | 3 | 40°01'N / 97°56'W | 40°02'N / 97°55'W | 1.00 Mile | 80 Yards | 0 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Nuckolls |
| 30.0 | 1996-05-09 | 2 | 39°34'N / 97°19'W | 39°34'N / 97°17'W | 1.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 40K | Washington |
| Brief Description: A tornado hit along the Clay-Washington county line moving east through mainly the city of Vining, beginning about 1.5 West of town and ending about 1/2 mile eastnortheast. Some damage was also noted in Clifton. There were about 25 buildings damaged in Vining including a large grain elevator complex with many trees downed or uprooted. A few buildings had their roofs torn completely off. Wind damage also occurred just north of Vining on a couple of farm homes and buildings. There were no injuries. | |||||||||||
| 30.5 | 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 |
| 30.6 | 2010-06-20 | 2 | 40°01'N / 98°04'W | 40°01'N / 98°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 1300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Nuckolls |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The most significant damage was confined to the city limits of Superior. There was widespread tree damage, along with a warehouse building and several small buildings being destroyed and a number of snapped power poles. On the southeast edge of town, railroad cars were overturned. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Much like the previous day, most severe weather focused south of the Nebraska and Kansas border on this Sunday afternoon and evening. However, one severe storm crept just far enough north of the state line to produce a damaging EF2 tornado in the community of Superior in southern Nuckolls County. The storm complex that eventually produced this tornado initially developed across Northwest Kansas in the vicinity of a nearly stationary east-west surface front, as a subtle mid-level shortwave ejected from a large-scale western United States trough. As these storms snuck into far South Central Nebraska out of North Central Kansas, the synoptic environment was quite supportive of severe weather, featuring deep-layer wind shear of 40 knots, and MLCAPE values around 3500 J/kg. The low-level shear environment was also favorable for tornadoes, with 0-1 km shear values around 25 knots, and 0-1 km storm relative helicity of at least 300 m2/s2. The storm that produced the Superior tornado was essentially an embedded supercell on the north end of a squall line, associated with a bookend vortex that first developed within the line in North Central Kansas. Around the same time as the Superior tornado, a separate area of strong to severe storms flared up several counties to the north, resulting in a quarter-sized hail report from Valley County. | |||||||||||
| 30.9 | 1973-09-25 | 2 | 39°29'N / 97°20'W | 39°33'N / 97°15'W | 5.90 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clay |
| 31.2 | 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 |
| 31.8 | 1979-10-18 | 2 | 39°11'N / 97°38'W | 39°17'N / 97°22'W | 15.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 32.1 | 1971-05-30 | 2 | 39°50'N / 98°23'W | 1.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Jewell | |
| 32.3 | 1976-04-14 | 2 | 40°00'N / 97°38'W | 40°03'N / 97°35'W | 4.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer |
| 32.4 | 1951-05-25 | 2 | 39°56'N / 97°26'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Republic | |||
| 32.5 | 1974-05-10 | 2 | 40°02'N / 98°06'W | 1.00 Mile | 233 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Nuckolls | |
| 32.9 | 1955-06-04 | 4 | 40°00'N / 97°33'W | 40°01'N / 97°32'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer | ||
| 34.0 | 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 |
| 34.5 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 39°04'N / 97°36'W | 39°13'N / 97°36'W | 11.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 5 | 0K | 0K | Ottawa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down near the intersection of Granite Rd and 190th Rd approximately 3 miles south of the Ottawa State Fishing Lake. It lifted approximately 11 miles north of it's touchdown point, at Rifle Rd between 200th and 210th Rds. 38 structures were destroyed or damaged; including homes, mobile homes, cabins, outbuildings, and small cottages. A mobile home that was anchored to the ground was totally destroyed by the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An upper level low pressure system remained relatively stationary over the Central Plains Saturday through Monday, May 5th through May 7th. Severe weather swept across Northeast Kansas during the late evening hours the 5th, and the early morning of the 6th. Hail, strong winds, and tornadoes were all observed over the course of the evening. An F2 tornado that ripped across Ottawa County killed one woman, and injured one other when their mobile home was demolished. At least three other people were confirmed to have been injured during the tornado. NWS Storm Surveys the following day confirmed that damage was created by both tornadoes and strong winds across portions of northeast Kansas, but 6 tornadoes were confirmed. Cloud county qualified for FEMA funds. | |||||||||||
| 35.2 | 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 |
| 35.8 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°03'N / 97°35'W | 39°18'N / 97°22'W | 20.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25.0M | 0 | Ottawa |
| 36.7 | 1959-05-04 | 2 | 39°15'N / 97°23'W | 39°15'N / 97°18'W | 3.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ottawa |
| 37.4 | 1975-12-13 | 2 | 40°02'N / 97°35'W | 40°07'N / 97°28'W | 8.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer |
| 38.0 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 40°01'N / 97°37'W | 40°10'N / 97°28'W | 13.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer |
| 38.1 | 1966-05-11 | 3 | 39°39'N / 97°12'W | 39°41'N / 97°06'W | 5.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Washington |
| 38.2 | 1973-03-13 | 2 | 39°35'N / 98°35'W | 39°50'N / 98°33'W | 17.20 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Smith |
| 38.5 | 2003-06-22 | 2 | 40°09'N / 97°43'W | 40°09'N / 97°46'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 7 | 10.0M | 1.0M | Thayer |
| Brief Description: A strong tornado set down on the southeast side of Deshler near the fairgrounds and moved west through the south side of Deshler. The slow moving tornado lifted a couple of miles west of town. M47PH Thunderstorms erupted during the evening in south-central Nebraska. One storm near Aurora produced very large hail. One stone measured by an NWS Storm Survey team was determined to be the largest sized stone to fall in the United States. It measured 7 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches in circumference. Many other large stones were noted on the northern side of Aurora. Given the lack of wind, damage was limited to roofs, a few windows and some crop land near town. The storm also produced a couple of brief small tornadoes as it slowly moved through northern Hamilton county. At nearly the same time, another very slow moving storm produced several tornadoes, hail and extremely heavy rains in Thayer county. One tornado moved through the town of Deshler going from the southeast side of town to the west. One man was killed in his garage before he was able to get to shelter. Over 400 homes in Deshler were damaged with four being completely demolished. Nearly 100 homes were moderately to severely damaged. Six businesses in town were considered a complete loss and 25 others reportedly suffered moderate to severe damage. Seven people were injured, most were minor and were from broken glass. Later in the evening, a tornado was reported north of Bradshaw in York county. Storm spotters about 1 mile west of the tornado saw debris being flung through the air. A farmstead was hit with most of the damage done to an old barn. Despite ongoing drought conditions, widespread flooding was reported in Thayer and southern Fillmore counties. The flash flood along the Rose Creek at Hubbell provided some of the worst damage. Water was flowing into houses and businesses on main street to the tune of up to 5 feet deep. Boats were the only mode of travel through the business district. Up to 15 residents had to be evacuated by the local Dive and Rescue team using jet skis. The flooding was caused by extremely heavy rainfall in nearby Republic County, Kansas. Flooding and flash flooding was also a problem throughout Thayer county. Rainfall of over 12 inches was reported about 5 miles north of Deshler. Residents reported nearly 5 hours of constant, wind-driven rain. Windows were blown out and the rain just poured into homes. Widespread agricultural damage was done due to the rain. The runoff in the Snake and Spring creeks ravaged Deshler, the town which had already been hammered by tornadoes that evening. Flooding was concentrated in the southern part of town and most widespread near the park and fairgrounds. Major river flooding was reported along the Little Blue River from just west of Hebron to the Jefferson county line. One man at his farmstead near Gilead had to be air lifted to safety by the National Guard as flooding waters rose on his property. Dozens of county roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed. U. S. Highway 81 was restricted to one lane travel at Hebron due to the high water on the road. Portions of Highways 81, 136 and 9 were closed for a time due to high water. The Big Sandy Creek flowed out of its banks at Alexandria and crested at 14.5 feet. Water was flowing over the highway near town and filling back into the town's sewer drains. In all, several million dollars in damage was done by the flooding alone. Some locals said this was the worst flooding in the area in 55 years. | |||||||||||
| 39.3 | 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 |
| 39.4 | 1960-05-16 | 2 | 39°12'N / 97°20'W | 0.30 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clay | |
| 39.6 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°18'N / 97°22'W | 39°54'N / 96°52'W | 49.20 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Cloud |
| 40.6 | 1979-10-18 | 2 | 39°17'N / 97°22'W | 39°26'N / 96°58'W | 23.70 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 11 | 2.5M | 0 | Clay |
| 41.7 | 1978-04-07 | 2 | 40°05'N / 98°20'W | 0.20 Mile | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Webster | |
| 42.0 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°08'N / 97°18'W | 39°23'N / 97°07'W | 19.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Clay |
| 42.1 | 1974-04-20 | 3 | 40°06'N / 97°56'W | 40°19'N / 97°44'W | 18.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nuckolls |
| 42.2 | 1975-04-27 | 2 | 40°10'N / 97°34'W | 0.30 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Thayer | |
| 42.7 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°23'N / 97°07'W | 39°34'N / 97°02'W | 13.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Clay |
| 43.1 | 1951-05-25 | 3 | 39°16'N / 97°11'W | 39°19'N / 97°08'W | 4.10 Miles | 440 Yards | 1 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clay |
| 44.1 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°05'N / 97°22'W | 39°08'N / 97°18'W | 4.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Dickinson |
| 44.1 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 44.4 | 1991-04-26 | 2 | 39°49'N / 97°07'W | 39°51'N / 97°03'W | 3.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Washington |
| 44.9 | 1973-09-26 | 2 | 39°21'N / 97°05'W | 2.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clay | |
| 45.0 | 1954-03-11 | 2 | 39°27'N / 98°41'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Osborne | |||
| 45.2 | 1964-04-20 | 2 | 39°27'N / 97°05'W | 39°36'N / 96°57'W | 12.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clay |
| 45.9 | 1980-06-02 | 2 | 40°14'N / 97°36'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Thayer | |
| 45.9 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°34'N / 97°02'W | 39°44'N / 96°58'W | 11.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 2 | 6 | 25.0M | 0 | Washington |
| 46.2 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 38°58'N / 97°28'W | 39°05'N / 97°22'W | 9.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 2 | 25.0M | 0 | Ottawa |
| 46.2 | 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 |
| 46.8 | 1991-04-11 | 2 | 40°10'N / 98°20'W | 40°13'N / 98°15'W | 5.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Webster |
| 47.9 | 1986-04-26 | 2 | 40°10'N / 97°34'W | 40°18'N / 97°25'W | 10.00 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer |
| 48.1 | 1971-05-30 | 2 | 39°46'N / 98°46'W | 39°51'N / 98°41'W | 7.10 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Smith |
| 48.2 | 1984-06-12 | 3 | 40°16'N / 97°48'W | 40°18'N / 97°33'W | 13.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Thayer |
| 48.7 | 1959-12-26 | 2 | 39°02'N / 97°19'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Dickinson | |
| 48.9 | 1990-03-13 | 4 | 40°03'N / 98°32'W | 40°18'N / 98°16'W | 20.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Webster |
| 49.4 | 1964-04-25 | 2 | 40°01'N / 97°55'W | 40°36'N / 97°34'W | 44.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nuckolls |
| 49.4 | 2008-05-29 | 2 | 40°04'N / 97°23'W | 40°12'N / 97°06'W | 15.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.8M | 0K | Jefferson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado was a continuation of a long-tracked tornado that started in Jewel county Kansas and tracked into Thayer county Nebraska before crossing into Jefferson county Nebraska. The tornado did EF3 damage in Kansas and EF2 damage in Jefferson county. In Jefferson county the tornado started 2 miles west and 1 1/4 mile north of Reynolds, knocking over large tree branches, snapping trees and overturning several center pivot irrigation systems. The storm tracked northeast from there continuing to snap wooden power poles and causing additional tree damage as well as farm outbuilding damage. The tornado crossed the Little Blue River 2 3/4 miles northwest of Fairbury before turning east where it attained EF2 strength. There it tore the roof off of a house and destroyed a garage and shed 1 mile west of Highway 15. Heading east from there it hit the Fairbury airport where hangers were damaged. East of the airport, a large barn was destroyed and large trees snapped. The tornado finally lifted about 3 miles east and 3 miles north of Fairbury. From the there the parent thunderstorm continued to produce additional wind damage from eastern Jefferson county into Gage county. In total the tornado caused serious damage to 5 houses in Jefferson county. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front lifted north across the region during the afternoon and evening of May 29th followed by a weak cool front passage later that night. As the warm front passed, temperatures warmed into the lower to mid 80s and dewpoint temperatures climbed into the 65 to 70 degree range. The whole system was aided by an intense upper level low pressure area that moved from the eastern Rockies into the northern plains. The combination of the high instability in place, the 2 fronts and the upper level disturbance created conditions that were favorable not only for severe thunderstorms, a few of which were supercells that produced tornadoes, but also areas of very heavy rainfall that produced flash flooding that night and river and stream flooding that lasted a day or two later. | |||||||||||
* 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.