Reno County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Kansas Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Reno County is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Reno County is higher than Kansas average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #72
| Reno 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
| Reno 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, #12
| Reno County | 292.04 |
| 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 19,201 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Reno 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: | 19 | Cold: | 20 | Dense Fog: | 9 | Drought: | 34 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 807 | Hail: | 11,243 | Heat: | 29 | Heavy Snow: | 84 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 36 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 153 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 6,212 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 3 | Winter Storm: | 90 | Winter Weather: | 62 |
| Other: | 400 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Reno County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Reno County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Reno County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 101 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Reno County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 8.7 | 1991-03-26 | 4 | 37°58'N / 98°03'W | 38°09'N / 97°57'W | 13.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Reno |
| 8.8 | 1959-05-17 | 2 | 38°04'N / 98°01'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Harper | |
| 9.1 | 1962-05-24 | 3 | 38°03'N / 98°11'W | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Reno | |||
| 9.5 | 1990-06-07 | 2 | 37°47'N / 97°57'W | 37°52'N / 98°03'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Reno |
| 9.9 | 1954-08-05 | 2 | 38°03'N / 97°57'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Reno | |||
| 10.3 | 1954-05-01 | 2 | 38°05'N / 98°00'W | 0.30 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Reno | |
| 12.7 | 1974-05-13 | 2 | 37°57'N / 98°04'W | 38°09'N / 97°42'W | 24.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Reno |
| 13.4 | 1990-03-13 | 5 | 37°46'N / 98°01'W | 37°56'N / 97°43'W | 21.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25.0M | 0 | Reno |
| 14.0 | 1962-05-24 | 2 | 38°09'N / 98°06'W | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Reno | |||
| 14.4 | 1991-03-26 | 3 | 37°48'N / 98°29'W | 38°07'N / 98°12'W | 25.00 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Reno |
| 17.0 | 1965-06-04 | 3 | 37°50'N / 97°50'W | 37°54'N / 97°44'W | 6.90 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Reno |
| 18.1 | 1974-05-13 | 2 | 38°06'N / 97°51'W | 38°09'N / 97°49'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Reno |
| 19.6 | 1959-05-04 | 2 | 37°44'N / 98°25'W | 37°53'N / 98°22'W | 10.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Reno |
| 22.3 | 1955-04-27 | 2 | 38°02'N / 97°41'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Harvey | |
| 23.4 | 1971-06-13 | 2 | 38°10'N / 97°45'W | 0.50 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Mcpherson | |
| 23.8 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 38°09'N / 97°44'W | 38°08'N / 97°42'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Reno |
| 24.7 | 1991-03-26 | 3 | 37°48'N / 98°30'W | 37°48'N / 98°29'W | 1.00 Mile | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pratt |
| 25.6 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 38°08'N / 97°42'W | 38°10'N / 97°40'W | 3.00 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Harvey |
| 26.0 | 1965-05-25 | 3 | 37°49'N / 98°38'W | 37°58'N / 98°28'W | 13.80 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Stafford |
| 26.9 | 1962-05-24 | 3 | 38°02'N / 97°40'W | 38°00'N / 97°31'W | 8.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Harvey |
| 27.0 | 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 |
| 27.6 | 1956-07-01 | 2 | 37°49'N / 97°36'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 27.9 | 1950-06-08 | 4 | 38°20'N / 97°56'W | 38°20'N / 97°55'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Rice | ||
| 28.3 | 1968-04-21 | 2 | 37°24'N / 98°24'W | 37°42'N / 98°00'W | 30.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Kingman |
| 29.3 | 1964-05-05 | 3 | 37°54'N / 98°48'W | 37°58'N / 98°26'W | 20.40 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stafford |
| 29.6 | 1990-03-13 | 5 | 37°56'N / 97°43'W | 38°10'N / 97°23'W | 26.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 1 | 59 | 25.0M | 0 | Harvey |
| 30.2 | 1955-06-04 | 3 | 38°04'N / 98°36'W | 38°10'N / 98°35'W | 6.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stafford |
| 31.1 | 1965-05-13 | 3 | 37°55'N / 97°29'W | 38°01'N / 97°32'W | 7.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Harvey |
| 31.1 | 2010-05-10 | 2 | 37°30'N / 97°59'W | 37°31'N / 97°56'W | 3.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 0 | 125K | 0K | Kingman |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down and caused some damage to a barn and some trees limbs were partially torn off. As the tornado continued to move to the northeast more significant damage occurred. A house was damaged with the roof being torn off of a house with 2 exterior walls being blown out (EF2 damage). Two garages were also destroyed and a riding lawnmower was removed from the garage and moved 100 yards downstream. Three people took shelter from the tornado in the basement and were unharmed. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours of May 10th, 2010, ahead of an approaching dry line and warm front. This dynamic environment coupled with an unstable airmass led to the development of thunderstorms to the west and south of Wichita, Kansas with tornado producing supercells moving across portions of South Central Kansas. Two supercells in particular produced significant damage across portions of Kingman, Sedgwick and Cowley counties with some of the damage classified as EF-2 damage by survey teams. | |||||||||||
| 31.6 | 1973-05-26 | 3 | 37°43'N / 97°36'W | 37°45'N / 97°32'W | 4.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 31.7 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 38°10'N / 97°40'W | 38°14'N / 97°31'W | 10.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 31.8 | 1950-06-08 | 4 | 38°20'N / 97°55'W | 38°20'N / 97°36'W | 17.10 Miles | 700 Yards | 1 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 32.9 | 2006-04-01 | 2 | 37°41'N / 98°38'W | 37°44'N / 98°34'W | 4.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Pratt |
| Brief Description: A barn was destroyed, a house damaged, large trees uprooted, a bailing trailer thrown into trees and several pivot sprinklers were destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 33.1 | 1950-05-16 | 2 | 37°33'N / 98°25'W | 0.20 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Kingman | |
| 33.2 | 1960-04-28 | 3 | 37°42'N / 97°35'W | 37°46'N / 97°29'W | 7.10 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 6 | 25K | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 34.4 | 2008-05-23 | 3 | 37°28'N / 98°37'W | 37°46'N / 98°29'W | 22.00 Miles | 1430 Yards | 2 | 2 | 0K | 0K | Pratt |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This 3/4 mile wide tornado produced EF3 damage and unfortunately claimed two lives. A husband and wife were parked on highway 54 approximately 2 1/4 miles east of Cairo. The tornado picked up their car and carried it approximately 1700 feet NNE into a wheat field (they were not discovered until the next morning at about 9 AM). The female occupant was ejected and was found 30 feet southwest of the wreckage. The male was still strapped in his seat. The car was nearly unrecognizable. A second vehicle (3/4 ton truck) was parked 20 yards behind the aforementioned car. It also went airborne briefly but got lodged on the north side ditch. The two male occupants received numerous cuts and bruises but were otherwise unhurt. They both claimed it was extremely cold immediately after crawling out of their vehicle with heavy vapor breath noticed. This tornado destroyed a home about a mile north and the collapsed east wall trapped a male in the bathtub where he had taken cover. Help was needed in lifting the wall off of him but he claimed he was not hurt. Other homes in the tornadoes path received minor to moderate 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. | |||||||||||
| 34.5 | 1954-09-09 | 2 | 37°49'N / 97°28'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 35.4 | 1969-06-23 | 4 | 37°39'N / 97°39'W | 37°36'N / 97°30'W | 8.70 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 35.5 | 1974-05-13 | 2 | 38°09'N / 97°49'W | 38°10'N / 97°09'W | 36.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Harvey |
| 35.9 | 1962-05-24 | 3 | 38°00'N / 97°31'W | 38°03'N / 97°20'W | 10.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Reno |
| 36.4 | 1951-04-30 | 3 | 37°38'N / 98°45'W | 37°46'N / 98°35'W | 12.80 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pratt |
| 36.8 | 1965-05-25 | 3 | 37°42'N / 98°47'W | 37°49'N / 98°38'W | 11.50 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Pratt |
| 37.2 | 2001-04-14 | 2 | 37°34'N / 98°38'W | 37°34'N / 98°29'W | 7.50 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Pratt |
| Brief Description: Shed destroyed, combine moved, 2 pivot sprinklers destroyed, grain silo destroyed and power poles knocked down. | |||||||||||
| 37.3 | 2002-05-07 | 2 | 37°42'N / 98°48'W | 37°34'N / 98°28'W | 22.00 Miles | 1800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 20.0M | 0 | Pratt |
| Brief Description: This very large tornado moved southeast across much of Pratt. Damage was rated a STRONG F2. There were 14 homes destroyed, 15 with major damage and 230 with minor damage. Over 50 Pivot sprinklers were damaged or destroyed. Despite the very heavy damage, there were no injuries thanks in part to adequate warnings. | |||||||||||
| 37.7 | 1974-05-13 | 2 | 38°09'N / 97°42'W | 38°22'N / 97°19'W | 25.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 38.3 | 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 |
| 38.6 | 1990-03-13 | 5 | 38°09'N / 97°26'W | 38°11'N / 97°25'W | 2.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Harvey |
| 38.6 | 1964-04-22 | 3 | 37°57'N / 98°53'W | 38°16'N / 98°38'W | 25.70 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Stafford |
| 38.7 | 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 |
| 38.9 | 1993-05-07 | 2 | 37°48'N / 98°54'W | 38°04'N / 98°41'W | 3.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5K | 0 | Pratt |
| Brief Description: Tornado developed northwest of Byers and moved to the northeast into Stafford County. The tornado was 1/4 of a mile wide as it crossed the county line into Stafford County. | |||||||||||
| 39.2 | 1961-07-13 | 2 | 38°02'N / 97°22'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Harvey | |||
| 39.8 | 1964-04-22 | 2 | 38°17'N / 97°29'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Mcpherson | |||
| 39.9 | 1956-07-21 | 2 | 38°01'N / 97°21'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Harvey | |||
| 40.3 | 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 |
| 40.3 | 1960-11-27 | 2 | 38°23'N / 97°35'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Mcpherson | |||
| 40.4 | 1965-05-13 | 3 | 37°29'N / 97°20'W | 37°55'N / 97°29'W | 31.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 41.0 | 1992-06-15 | 4 | 38°22'N / 97°40'W | 38°27'N / 97°32'W | 6.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 10 | 25.0M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 41.3 | 1964-11-14 | 2 | 37°31'N / 98°40'W | 37°28'N / 98°28'W | 11.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pratt |
| 41.3 | 1990-03-13 | 5 | 38°10'N / 97°23'W | 38°11'N / 97°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 41.6 | 1973-10-11 | 2 | 37°39'N / 97°25'W | 0.70 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 15 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick | |
| 41.9 | 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 |
| 42.0 | 1990-03-13 | 5 | 38°11'N / 97°25'W | 38°13'N / 97°20'W | 4.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 42.0 | 1963-07-12 | 2 | 38°03'N / 97°19'W | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Harvey | |||
| 42.1 | 1957-04-22 | 2 | 37°30'N / 98°36'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pratt | |||
| 42.5 | 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 |
| 42.5 | 1958-06-11 | 2 | 37°46'N / 97°20'W | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 42.6 | 2007-05-04 | 3 | 37°54'N / 98°57'W | 38°06'N / 98°46'W | 17.00 Miles | 1515 Yards | 1 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This killer tornado formed just east of another large but dissipating tornado that was approaching Macksville. Unfortunately a law officer watching the dissipating tornado was unaware that this one was rapidly forming and could not get out of harms way. His car was thrown at least 1/4 of a mile and was found in a field. He died several days later from catastrophic injuries received in the crushed vehicle. EF3 damage was done to over a dozen farms, trees, machinery, vehicles, pivot irrigation sprinklers and power poles. 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 | 1973-09-25 | 2 | 38°32'N / 97°49'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mcpherson | |||
| 43.0 | 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 |
| 43.2 | 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 |
| 43.5 | 1955-04-27 | 2 | 38°23'N / 97°37'W | 38°29'N / 97°31'W | 8.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 43.9 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 37°59'N / 98°53'W | 38°07'N / 98°52'W | 9.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This wedge tornado was occurring simultaneously to another large but smaller tornado (within several miles). Damage was done to houses, 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. | |||||||||||
| 44.6 | 1954-10-04 | 2 | 37°41'N / 97°20'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 44.7 | 1972-04-30 | 2 | 38°35'N / 98°14'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ellsworth | |
| 45.0 | 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 |
| 45.1 | 1990-05-24 | 3 | 38°31'N / 97°54'W | 38°29'N / 97°22'W | 30.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 45.2 | 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 |
| 45.3 | 1964-05-05 | 2 | 37°30'N / 98°41'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pratt | |||
| 45.8 | 1992-09-05 | 2 | 37°42'N / 97°20'W | 37°42'N / 97°16'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25.0M | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 46.2 | 2004-05-29 | 3 | 37°22'N / 97°38'W | 37°24'N / 97°37'W | 2.50 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 1 | 17.8M | 100K | Sumner |
| Brief Description: The following were destroyed: 15 farm dwellings and service buildings, 25 pieces of farm machinery and equipment, many miles of transmission line, with most of wheat a total loss. (This portion of narrative courtesy of USDA Flash Situation Report.) In addition, major damage to several homes along highway 49. One modular was completely removed from over a viewout basement. A teenage boy sought refuge under the staircase in the basement only to watch a car thrown overhead. He escaped unharmed. However, one woman wasn't so fortunate; the resident of a mobile home that was completely destroyed. The only recognizable parts were the steel girders that ran along the base of the home. She had sought refuge in the bathroom and was holding on to the commode. She was thrown several feet from the homestead and received several injuries. Fortunately, none were serious. | |||||||||||
| 46.3 | 1953-06-21 | 2 | 37°45'N / 97°16'W | 0 | 3 | 0K | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 46.4 | 1964-06-10 | 2 | 38°31'N / 98°32'W | 0.50 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barton | |
| 46.5 | 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 |
| 46.8 | 1999-05-03 | 4 | 37°29'N / 97°22'W | 37°42'N / 97°20'W | 14.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 6 | 150 | 140.0M | 0 | Sedgwick |
| Brief Description: The same tornado that initially touched down 4 miles north of Wellington in Central Sumner County, SKYWARN reports indicate the tornado crossed the Sumner/Sedgwick County line at 1930, 1 mile west of Peck. Moving northeast at 30 kts, the tornado hit Haysville at 1935, destroying a subdivision just southwest of the South Seneca-South 87th Street intersection where the first 2 fatalities occurred in a mobile home park when a woman and her grandson were killed while running for shelter. (A 6th fatality resulted when an elderly man died from his injuries at a Wichita hospital on May 23rd.) The tornado then moved north along South Seneca Avenue, entering the Haysville Central Business District at 1938. The 3rd fatality occurred at this point when an elderly man was killed in a mobile home at South 75th Street. At the South Seneca/South 71st Street intersection, most of the businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. Damage summary for Haysville (damaged or destroyed): 150 homes, 27 businesses, 3 churches, 1 library, 4 historic buildings and 1 lodge. The tornado entered South Wichita at 1943 when it crossed South 55th Street. The tornado then veered slightly toward the northwest. At South 47th Street it reassumed a northeast track. Crossing MacArthur Avenue, the tornado leveled the Lakeshore and Pacesetter mobile home parks located just northeast of the South Seneca/MacArthur intersection where the 4th and 5th fatalities occurred, one at each mobile home park. At 1945, the tornado crossed the East Harry Street interchange on I-135 and continued to move northeast, lifting in the College Hill District in Northeast Wichita. Along this entire track, the tornado left a path of destruction 14 miles long and 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide. Damage summary for Sedgwick County: 8,480 buildings (all types) damaged or destroyed. Of these, 2,456 were at least 50% destroyed and 1,109 totally destroyed. M27MH, F43OU, M1OU, M83MH, M68MH, M78MH | |||||||||||
| 47.1 | 2009-06-15 | 2 | 37°54'N / 99°01'W | 37°54'N / 98°52'W | 9.00 Miles | 1400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This was a multiple vortex tornado that moved out of Edwards county at 609 PM CDT. It did high end EF2 damage to trees, crops, pivot irrigation sprinklers and a barn. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms broke out in the afternoon heat and became quite intense by evening producing large hail, high winds and tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 1965-09-03 | 3 | 37°39'N / 97°18'W | 0 | 27 | 2.5M | 0 | Sedgwick | |||
| 47.2 | 2004-05-12 | 2 | 37°16'N / 98°01'W | 37°16'N / 98°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0 | Harper |
| Brief Description: Tornado moved NNE on the outskirts of Harper. The tornado sheared off the top portion of a two story home and sending debris for several hundred yards. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 1956-10-29 | 3 | 38°22'N / 98°46'W | 0.60 Mile | 147 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Barton | |
| 47.7 | 1970-03-02 | 2 | 38°03'N / 97°16'W | 38°10'N / 97°11'W | 9.10 Miles | 360 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Harvey |
| 47.9 | 1984-04-29 | 2 | 37°43'N / 97°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Sedgwick | |
| 47.9 | 2004-05-29 | 3 | 37°23'N / 97°36'W | 37°22'N / 97°34'W | 2.50 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Sumner |
| Brief Description: Considerable damage to two homesteads; the first being a sturdy brick home. All exterior walls ripped from the home, only leaving only the interior. Home owner ran down the stairs as the tornado hit and avoided injury. Further southeast, a modular home was completely removed from above a viewout basement. It was here that an amazing survival occurred. The homeowner sought refuge in a safe room in the basement and was unharmed, despite the fact a propane tank landed in the basement and began to leak. Breathing became difficult as fumes permeated the saferoom. At the same time, the saferoom began to flood, however the rising water levels dissipated the fumes. In addition, a semi-truck was thrown approximately 100 feet. | |||||||||||
| 48.0 | 2007-05-05 | 2 | 37°49'N / 99°00'W | 38°00'N / 98°55'W | 13.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado did EF2 damage to farms, trees and pivot irrigation sprinklers. It was very large in size. It eventually moved into Pawnee county at 1905 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. | |||||||||||
| 48.1 | 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 |
| 48.5 | 2004-05-12 | 4 | 37°15'N / 97°59'W | 37°15'N / 97°58'W | 1.20 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 1 | 275K | 75K | Harper |
| Brief Description: Large destructive tornado completely demolished a two story farm house and 5 other barns associated with the homestead. Five cars were also dismantled as the engines were spread across the shaven wheat fields. Very few automobile body parts could be located. | |||||||||||
| 48.6 | 1991-04-26 | 5 | 37°28'N / 97°29'W | 37°42'N / 97°09'W | 24.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 4 | 75 | 250.0M | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 48.7 | 2007-05-04 | 3 | 37°49'N / 98°57'W | 37°55'N / 98°59'W | 7.00 Miles | 2110 Yards | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0K | Stafford |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado moved out of northwest Pratt county and dissipated just south of Macksville. It did strong EF3 damage to farms, trees, machinery and vehicles. A Blazer was carried over 3/4 of a mile and was barely recognizable as a vehicle. Several dozen head of cattle were killed along with wildlife in the area. One well built home was completely swept off it's foundation. 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. | |||||||||||
| 48.8 | 1958-06-07 | 3 | 37°39'N / 97°16'W | 5.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Sedgwick | |
| 49.5 | 1991-05-16 | 3 | 37°30'N / 97°27'W | 37°36'N / 97°12'W | 20.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Sedgwick |
| 49.7 | 1954-04-25 | 2 | 38°37'N / 98°25'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ellsworth | |||
| 49.7 | 2004-05-12 | 2 | 37°14'N / 97°59'W | 37°14'N / 97°57'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 140K | 0 | Harper |
| Brief Description: Large tornado moved over open country before hitting a farmstead and shearing off the roof of a veterinarians clinic and the top floor of a two story home. | |||||||||||
| 49.9 | 2004-05-12 | 2 | 37°13'N / 98°13'W | 37°15'N / 98°13'W | 1.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 140K | 0 | Harper |
| Brief Description: Large dusty tornado moved north just on the outskirts of the city. The tornado had a direct hit on an ECO block home. The home lost it's roof, but all exterior walls remained in tact. Two metal barns were also lost in the tornado. | |||||||||||
* 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.