Beattie, KS Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Beattie is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Beattie is much lower than Kansas average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #131
| Beattie, 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
| Beattie, 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, #614
| Beattie, KS | 179.13 |
| 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 3,956 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Beattie, 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: | 15 | Cold: | 38 | Dense Fog: | 12 | Drought: | 7 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 243 | Hail: | 2,000 | Heat: | 32 | Heavy Snow: | 39 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 31 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 64 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,191 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 116 | Winter Weather: | 32 |
| Other: | 136 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Beattie, KS.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Beattie, KS.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Beattie, KS.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 70 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Beattie, KS.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 7.4 | 1963-04-28 | 2 | 39°48'N / 96°19'W | 39°52'N / 96°15'W | 5.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Marshall |
| 11.6 | 1959-05-02 | 2 | 39°51'N / 96°39'W | 39°37'N / 96°28'W | 18.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Marshall |
| 18.4 | 1963-04-28 | 2 | 39°52'N / 96°15'W | 40°00'N / 95°55'W | 19.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Marshall |
| 19.6 | 1959-05-29 | 2 | 39°49'N / 96°47'W | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Marshall | |||
| 21.4 | 1993-05-06 | 2 | 39°37'N / 96°08'W | 39°58'N / 95°55'W | 23.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5.0M | 50K | Nemaha |
| Brief Description: The longest track tornado of the day moved southwest to northeast across Nemaha county miraculously producing no deaths or injuries. However significant damage occurred to about 20 different farms or farmsteads and related business, machinery and buildings. The tornado just missed populated areas and remained generally in fields and farm areas. Excessive rain in the days after the storm hampered cleanup. Property damage from the tornado was estimated at $1.1 million. In some areas the tornado was about 1/2 mile wide while in other areas damage was only about 100 yards wide. At times the tornado had multiple vortices. | |||||||||||
| 21.9 | 1975-06-02 | 2 | 40°07'N / 96°40'W | 0.20 Mile | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gage | |
| 22.3 | 1953-08-02 | 2 | 40°05'N / 96°45'W | 40°05'N / 96°42'W | 1.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Gage |
| 22.5 | 1967-06-07 | 2 | 40°07'N / 96°56'W | 40°14'N / 95°40'W | 67.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jefferson |
| 24.2 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 39°44'N / 96°58'W | 40°00'N / 96°47'W | 20.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Marshall |
| 25.6 | 2006-04-06 | 2 | 39°47'N / 96°52'W | 40°00'N / 96°56'W | 17.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 750K | 0 | Washington |
| Brief Description: This tornado touched down at 420pm cst 5 miles north of Barnes and was on the ground for 17 miles before crossing the state line into Gage County, Nebraska 3.5 miles east-northeast of Hollenberg, Kansas...or about 3 miles south and 0.5 miles west of Odell, Nebraska. It was caused by a supercell thunderstorm and was sighted by many storm chasers and storm spotters. Most of the damage with this tornado was rated as F0 or F1. However, strong F2 damage was noted near the intersection of Highways 36 and 148, where one brick home had the roof torn off and some of the exterior walls knocked down. The occupants of the home were in the basement and had to be helped from the damaged home by emergency personel. Four outbuildings were also damaged at this location. Elsewhere, the tornado caused damage to one other home and five additional outbuildings as well as many trees, and one home was completely destroyed just southeast of Hanover. | |||||||||||
| 26.1 | 1958-07-03 | 2 | 40°09'N / 96°51'W | 40°14'N / 96°28'W | 20.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Gage |
| 26.3 | 1975-12-13 | 2 | 40°13'N / 96°14'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pawnee | |
| 26.5 | 1956-05-29 | 2 | 40°04'N / 96°52'W | 40°04'N / 96°49'W | 2.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Gage |
| 27.6 | 2001-04-11 | 2 | 40°15'N / 96°30'W | 40°16'N / 96°29'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 400K | 0 | Gage |
| Brief Description: A tornado caused extensive damage in Virginia with most of the damage occurring along a 4 block long and 1 block wide stretch through the center of town. One house was almost completely destroyed causing minor injuries to 2 people living there. Six other homes and businesses sustained extensive damage, and trees and other debris were scattered all over the community. | |||||||||||
| 27.9 | 1991-04-26 | 3 | 40°01'N / 96°55'W | 40°15'N / 96°42'W | 19.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gage |
| 28.0 | 1958-07-03 | 2 | 40°14'N / 96°28'W | 40°18'N / 96°16'W | 11.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Pawnee |
| 28.3 | 1978-07-06 | 2 | 40°01'N / 96°55'W | 40°00'N / 96°55'W | 1.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Gage |
| 28.4 | 1968-04-16 | 2 | 40°11'N / 96°05'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pawnee | |||
| 28.5 | 1991-04-26 | 3 | 39°57'N / 96°57'W | 40°01'N / 96°55'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Washington |
| 29.9 | 1978-07-06 | 2 | 40°00'N / 96°59'W | 40°01'N / 96°55'W | 3.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jefferson |
| 30.0 | 1973-09-25 | 3 | 40°00'N / 96°47'W | 40°31'N / 96°31'W | 38.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 8 | 2.5M | 0 | Gage |
| 31.6 | 2006-04-15 | 2 | 40°08'N / 96°47'W | 40°27'N / 96°28'W | 29.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 4.5M | 0 | Gage |
| Brief Description: This tornado formed about 6 miles west of Wymore at 433 pm CDT (1533 CST), tracked northeast to around 4 miles east of Beatrice where it caused f2 damage, then tracked just south of Adams and crossed into Johnson county 2 miles southeast of Adams around 515 pm CDT. In Johnson county the tornado tracked another 5 miles before dissipating or lifting 3 miles north of Sterling. This tornado formed from a supercell which then became rain-wrapped and took on a heavy rain (hp) supercell characteristics. In Gage county, the average width of the damage path of the tornado was around 150 yards, but it did reach around 1/2 mile in a 3 mile stretch from 4 miles east of Beatrice to 6 miles east northeast of Beatrice. The total path length in Gage and Johnson counties was 34 miles. Seventy-three homes were affected by the tornado, one house was basically destroyed and two others received major damage. One farmstead had 10 trees uprooted. The tornado also destroyed two large chicken houses that when full could house up to 86,000 broilers. In Gage county the damage was estimated at $4.5 million. | |||||||||||
| 32.6 | 2008-06-11 | 2 | 39°27'N / 96°06'W | 39°30'N / 96°02'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Pottawatomie |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This is the first segment of an EF-2 tornado that began in Pottawatomie County, moved northeast into Jackson County and continued northeast into Nemaha County before dissipating. This is segment 1 of 3 for the tornado path. In Pottawatomie County the tornado touched down near a farmstead south of Havensville and compromised some of the external walls of a residence as well as tearing a large portion of the roof off of the residence. Extensive damage was noted to outbuildings and trees near the residence. The tornado continued northeast damaging mainly rural areas of northeastern Pottawatomie County damaging trees and power poles. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Two long lived supercells wreaked havoc across portions of north central and northeast Kansas on the night of June 11th. Three significant tornadoes touched down, caused millions of dollars in damage, killed two, and critically injured three citizens. The town of Chapman saw the most extensive damage. Approximately three-quarters of the town were damaged by the tornado that passed through. Numerous homes were demolished, as were both the middle school and high school. One death occured, as a result of a tree having fallen onto a young woman oustide her car, who had just placed her daughter into her car seat. The most severe, but more localized damage occurred in the Miller Ranch neighborhood in Manhattan, where several homes were completely destroyed. Several buildings on the Kansas StiThe Soldier, Kansas tornado was responsible for the other death. A man was killed in his mobile home when it flipped several times and was found a few miles from it's original location. The unoccupied home a few hundred feet from the mobile home went virtually untouched. Thousands of citizens turned up over the next few weeks to help with the clean-up effort in both Chapman and Manhattan. | |||||||||||
| 33.3 | 2008-06-11 | 2 | 39°30'N / 96°02'W | 39°34'N / 95°53'W | 9.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Jackson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This is the second segment of a tornado that initially touched down in Pottawatomie County and then continued northeast into Jackson County before continuing northeast and dissipating in Nemaha County. This is segment 2 of 3. Upon entering Jackson County the tornado did EF1 and EF0 damage primarily to outbuildings, power poles and large trees. As the tornado continued northeast, it moved south of Soldier causing extensive damage to two farmsteads. One residence was blown off of its foundation while another sustained extensive damage to its external walls and roof. All surrounding outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado continued northeast, striking a mobile home just south of the Nemaha County border. The mobile home was destroyed, and the occupant sustained fatal injuries. The tornado then continued northeast into Nemaha County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Two long lived supercells wreaked havoc across portions of north central and northeast Kansas on the night of June 11th. Three significant tornadoes touched down, caused millions of dollars in damage, killed two, and critically injured three citizens. The town of Chapman saw the most extensive damage. Approximately three-quarters of the town were damaged by the tornado that passed through. Numerous homes were demolished, as were both the middle school and high school. One death occured, as a result of a tree having fallen onto a young woman oustide her car, who had just placed her daughter into her car seat. The most severe, but more localized damage occurred in the Miller Ranch neighborhood in Manhattan, where several homes were completely destroyed. Several buildings on the Kansas StiThe Soldier, Kansas tornado was responsible for the other death. A man was killed in his mobile home when it flipped several times and was found a few miles from it's original location. The unoccupied home a few hundred feet from the mobile home went virtually untouched. Thousands of citizens turned up over the next few weeks to help with the clean-up effort in both Chapman and Manhattan. | |||||||||||
| 33.7 | 1998-06-13 | 2 | 39°54'N / 95°47'W | 39°54'N / 95°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.5M | 0 | Nemaha |
| Brief Description: A tornado ripped through downtown Sabetha causing extensive structural damage to buildings in a two block area, as well as downing power lines and several large trees. The tornado's path extended from one-half mile west to one-half mile east of the City Hall building. Eighteen buildings in downtown sustained damage with five buildings including City Hall damaged close to the point of loss. The tornado caused 2 million in damage to City Hall alone as it destroyed half the roof and walls of the building. Away from downtown several homes and vehicles were damaged from fallen trees and limbs on the fringes of the tornado or from strong straight line winds. | |||||||||||
| 34.2 | 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 |
| 34.5 | 2008-05-29 | 2 | 40°20'N / 96°42'W | 40°21'N / 96°30'W | 11.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 750K | 0K | Gage |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A bow echo that moved across the Beatrice area spun up an EF2 tornado just north of town while south through east of town a narrow path of straight line wind damage occurred. The tornado touched down around 2 miles east of Highway 77 near Hackberry Road where it severely damaged two houses. Farm outbuildings were also severely damaged or destroyed. The tornado was rated an EF2 at that location. From there the tornado damaged a church on Elm Road with trees also snapped or uprooted in both areas as well. The tornado continued east northeast causing substantial tree and outbuilding damage to 10 more farmsteads, along with some house damage. Most of the damage occurred along Hackberry Road with the damage path around 1/4 mile wide. As the tornado worked its way east northeast toward Johnson county...the damage gradually weakened and the path narrowed. The tornado was estimated to have lifted a little northeast of Filley. Emergency management estimated that the tornado and the wind damage south through east of town caused at least a million dollars worth of damage. 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. | |||||||||||
| 34.7 | 1996-05-08 | 2 | 40°17'N / 96°49'W | 40°18'N / 96°42'W | 9.50 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 15 | 12.0M | 0 | Gage |
| Brief Description: The beginning of the tornado started 4 1/2 miles west northwest of downtown Beatrice, just north of the Homestead National Monument. The storm damaged trees just north of state highway 4 when it struck several homes, primarily lifting the roofs off of them. The tornado was rated F1 at that point. Around 1/2 mile to the east, the tornado struck a subdivision. The damage was more severe, with collapsed outer walls and roofs off homes. The tornado damage was rated as a strong F2 in this area. The tornado, continuing to move in an east southeast direction, nearly paralleling highway 4, struck a church. Part of the roof was lost off the church. After striking the church, the tornado hit several more homes and barns before entering the heart of the city. The damage path width of the tornado was 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide, with damaging thunderstorms winds out to 11/2 mile. The main tornado path remained 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide north of U.S. highway 136, with much of the damage south of highway 136 due to thunderstorm downburst winds. The tornado strength weakened when entering the city, with an F-scale strength between F0-F1. Although much of the damage in the central city area was due to falling trees and large tree limbs, other damage noted was roofing torn off of several buildings and a collapsed 200 foot communication tower. After the storm exited the city, it regained strength. The tornado also began curving to the northeast. The storm maintained about F1 strength from about 1 mile east of downtown Beatrice to the storm's dissipation, approximately 3 miles northeast of the city. The strong F2 tornado's path was 9.5 miles long. | |||||||||||
| 35.3 | 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 |
| 37.6 | 1959-05-04 | 2 | 39°55'N / 95°49'W | 39°35'N / 95°38'W | 24.90 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 37.6 | 1978-05-31 | 3 | 39°19'N / 96°23'W | 39°22'N / 96°02'W | 18.90 Miles | 1300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pottawatomie |
| 37.9 | 1993-05-06 | 2 | 39°42'N / 95°44'W | 39°49'N / 95°42'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 50K | Brown |
| Brief Description: The tornado began near Highway 75 about eight miles south of Fairview and moved northnortheast damaging about half dozen farmsteads before dissipating southeast of Fairview. The tornado was not on the ground continuously along its path. Debris from the tornado was reported in the sky west of Hiawatha. | |||||||||||
| 39.4 | 1963-04-28 | 2 | 40°05'N / 97°08'W | 40°06'N / 97°04'W | 3.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Jefferson |
| 39.4 | 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 |
| 41.1 | 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 |
| 41.3 | 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 |
| 41.3 | 1979-10-18 | 2 | 39°15'N / 96°21'W | 39°20'N / 96°01'W | 18.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Pottawatomie |
| 41.7 | 1965-06-21 | 2 | 39°16'N / 96°33'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pottawatomie | |||
| 42.2 | 1978-05-31 | 3 | 39°22'N / 96°02'W | 39°28'N / 95°43'W | 18.10 Miles | 1300 Yards | 3 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Jackson |
| 42.4 | 1991-04-26 | 2 | 40°26'N / 96°30'W | 40°31'N / 96°28'W | 4.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gage |
| 42.6 | 1959-05-18 | 3 | 39°49'N / 95°37'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown | |
| 43.0 | 1995-05-08 | 2 | 40°27'N / 96°23'W | 40°31'N / 96°20'W | 1.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 450K | 0 | Nemaha |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down four miles west and one-half mile south of Auburn and did extensive damage to a house, farm, its outbuildings, and power lines along the path of the tornado. A second farmsite was damage three and one-half miles west of Auburn. | |||||||||||
| 43.0 | 1961-05-07 | 2 | 39°58'N / 95°37'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown | |||
| 43.0 | 1982-06-08 | 2 | 39°22'N / 95°58'W | 39°26'N / 95°47'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 44.0 | 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 |
| 44.1 | 1962-05-31 | 2 | 39°42'N / 95°36'W | 39°48'N / 95°36'W | 6.90 Miles | 13 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Brown |
| 44.3 | 1987-08-17 | 2 | 40°09'N / 97°10'W | 0.20 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jefferson | |
| 44.4 | 1967-06-09 | 2 | 40°25'N / 96°54'W | 40°28'N / 96°40'W | 12.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Gage |
| 44.6 | 1957-05-20 | 2 | 40°04'N / 97°30'W | 40°42'N / 96°20'W | 75.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Thayer |
| 44.7 | 1979-10-18 | 2 | 39°20'N / 96°01'W | 39°30'N / 95°36'W | 24.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 44.7 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 39°49'N / 95°43'W | 39°59'N / 95°26'W | 18.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Brown |
| 45.7 | 1964-06-08 | 2 | 40°24'N / 96°55'W | 40°30'N / 96°43'W | 12.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Saline |
| 46.4 | 1982-04-15 | 2 | 40°30'N / 96°12'W | 40°31'N / 96°09'W | 3.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 46.5 | 1962-08-06 | 4 | 39°31'N / 95°47'W | 39°23'N / 95°40'W | 11.00 Miles | 667 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 46.6 | 1982-06-14 | 2 | 40°24'N / 96°57'W | 0.20 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Saline | |
| 46.6 | 1950-05-05 | 3 | 39°37'N / 95°37'W | 39°39'N / 95°34'W | 3.30 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 47.1 | 1953-06-19 | 2 | 39°36'N / 95°36'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Jackson | |||
| 47.1 | 1950-05-05 | 3 | 39°39'N / 95°34'W | 39°51'N / 95°31'W | 14.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Brown |
| 47.4 | 1968-04-16 | 2 | 40°23'N / 95°50'W | 1.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha | |
| 47.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 47.9 | 1956-04-28 | 3 | 40°15'N / 97°23'W | 40°29'N / 96°42'W | 39.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Jefferson |
| 48.1 | 1982-04-15 | 2 | 40°31'N / 96°09'W | 40°32'N / 96°07'W | 2.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Otoe |
| 48.3 | 1956-04-02 | 2 | 40°22'N / 95°50'W | 40°24'N / 95°47'W | 2.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 48.3 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 40°23'N / 95°48'W | 40°17'N / 95°41'W | 8.80 Miles | 467 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 48.3 | 1963-04-28 | 3 | 40°23'N / 95°53'W | 40°27'N / 95°50'W | 4.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 8 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 48.5 | 2004-05-22 | 4 | 40°28'N / 96°53'W | 40°31'N / 96°46'W | 7.00 Miles | 2640 Yards | 0 | 0 | 20.0M | 0 | Gage |
| Brief Description: See description below. This long tracked tornado is often referred to as the Hallam tornado. It initially touched down 3 miles west of Daykin in northern Jefferson county. The tornado was rated an f0 or f1 in Jefferson county damaging farm outbuildings, grain bins and trees. From there the tornado crossed into Saline county southwest of Western and remained an f0 or f1 until it struck the southern portion of Wilber where it strengthened to f2. Roofs were blown off of homes just southeast of Wilber. The tornado traveled from Wilber into Gage county, crossing the county line west of Clatonia where it grew to its most intense stage, f4. The tornado remained nearly at this strength as it crossed into Lancaster county near Hallam with a damage path of around 2 1/2 miles. Many well-built homes were demolished from Clatonia to Hallam, along with grain bins, farm sheds, and outbuildings. Many trees were destroyed or uprooted. Although Hallam itself escaped the strongest winds from the storm, which occurred just south of town, 95 percent of the buildings in town were either destroyed or severely damaged. The lone fatality from the tornado occurred in Hallam. The storm also toppled several hopper cars from a freight train on the west edge of town. In total 55 railroad cars were derailed. From Hallam the tornado traveled east for several miles prior to turning northeast again just north of Cortland. The storm then tracked 2 miles north of Firth, severely damaging the Firth-Norris high school and a nearby middle school. School busses were tossed in this area. Several homes northeast of the schools were flattened as the tornado regained its f4 strength. The damage path continued northeast to Holland and then to 2 miles north of Panama where the tornado weakened to around an f2 and the damage path began to narrow. The track then curved more toward the north, passing just south of Bennet where a few homes sustained f3 damage. After passing south of Bennet, the storm moved back to the northeast and began to weaken to f0 or f1 strength as it crossed into Otoe county southwest of Palmyra. The tornado finally dissipated 1 miles west southwest of Palmyra. In total the tornado was on the ground for around 54 miles with a maximum intensity of f4. Besides the fatality, 38 people sustained injuries, 158 homes were leveled and 57 others were seriously damaged. The dollar amount of damage was estimated at 160 million, with 60 million of that agricultural including 100 cattle and 50 hogs lost. Some 150,000 acres of crop land sustained significant damage. The 5 counties were declared national disaster areas by Fema. | |||||||||||
| 48.7 | 1970-07-14 | 2 | 40°29'N / 96°53'W | 40°30'N / 96°47'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Gage |
| 48.9 | 1954-04-05 | 2 | 39°11'N / 96°55'W | 39°17'N / 96°46'W | 10.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Geary |
| 49.7 | 1954-03-18 | 2 | 39°40'N / 95°31'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Brown | |||
| 49.9 | 2008-06-11 | 4 | 39°07'N / 96°42'W | 39°12'N / 96°34'W | 9.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Riley |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down to the southwest of Manahattan on a farm, and first destroyed a large machine shed, and threw a grain cart into an adjacent field. The tornado tracked to the northeast and destroyed several homes that were in the process of being built. Then, the tornado entered the Miller Ranch area of Manhattan, where the EF-4 damage was observed. Fifteen well built homes were completely destroyed. Nearby in the Amherst residential area, approximately thirty homes were damaged. A local newspaper reported that 45 residences in Manhattan were destroyed, 142 were damaged, and 637 were affected by the tornado. Ninety three apartments or duplexes, twenty mobile homes, and ten total businesses were impacted. Thereafter, the windows at the Little Apple Honda/Toyota car dealership were blown out, and several cars on the lots were tossed. A nearby hardware store and several self-storage units were demolished. Other nearby businesses were also damaged. The Lee Elementary School was then damaged. The tornado continued toward the Kansas State University campus. There, the roof was blown off a fraternity house, windows were blown out of buildings, the USDA Wind Erosion Labratory roof was damaged, and debris from damage to the southwest was blown across the campus. Summer classes at the University were shuffled around to find appropriate, undamaged buildings to hold summer students. New student orientation was also going on the week the tornado struck. It was reported that $20 million dollars in damage was done to the KSU campus alone. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Two long lived supercells wreaked havoc across portions of north central and northeast Kansas on the night of June 11th. Three significant tornadoes touched down, caused millions of dollars in damage, killed two, and critically injured three citizens. The town of Chapman saw the most extensive damage. Approximately three-quarters of the town were damaged by the tornado that passed through. Numerous homes were demolished, as were both the middle school and high school. One death occured, as a result of a tree having fallen onto a young woman oustide her car, who had just placed her daughter into her car seat. The most severe, but more localized damage occurred in the Miller Ranch neighborhood in Manhattan, where several homes were completely destroyed. Several buildings on the Kansas StiThe Soldier, Kansas tornado was responsible for the other death. A man was killed in his mobile home when it flipped several times and was found a few miles from it's original location. The unoccupied home a few hundred feet from the mobile home went virtually untouched. Thousands of citizens turned up over the next few weeks to help with the clean-up effort in both Chapman and Manhattan. | |||||||||||
* 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.