Comanche County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Kansas Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Comanche County is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Comanche County is much lower than Kansas average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #89
| Comanche County | 0.00 |
| 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
| Comanche 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, #89
| Comanche County | 0.00 |
| 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 17,454 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Comanche 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: | 18 | Cold: | 10 | Dense Fog: | 7 | Drought: | 46 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 474 | Hail: | 10,841 | Heat: | 23 | Heavy Snow: | 106 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 39 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 171 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 5,148 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 16 | Winter Storm: | 79 | Winter Weather: | 49 |
| Other: | 427 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Comanche County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Comanche County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Comanche County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 62 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Comanche County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 12.3 | 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 |
| 12.7 | 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 |
| 14.8 | 2008-05-23 | 3 | 37°00'N / 99°03'W | 37°06'N / 99°03'W | 7.00 Miles | 980 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Comanche |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This 1/2 mile wide tornado moved out of Oklahoma. EF3+ damaged was based on trees that appeared to be sand blasted. Also, there were trees uprooted, several antique cars that have yet to be found as of late July, 2008 (probably dropped in ravines in the area). An oil tank was carried 2 miles. Several head of cattle were killed. The tornado turned west (left) as it began to dissipate. 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. | |||||||||||
| 15.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 18.5 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 36°57'N / 99°07'W | 36°59'N / 99°01'W | 4.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 20K | 0K | Woods |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado developed and moved predominately over range land. Little or no significant damage was observed until the tornado approached the state line. Widespread tree damage, consistent with an EF2 tornado was noted. The tornado then moved into Comanche County Kansas. Monetary damages were estimated. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon ahead of a dry line that was located near the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma border. The thunderstorms quickly became supercells as they moved toward southwest Kansas. Very large hail was the initial threat, although a significant tornado threat became apparent as they neared the Kansas border. Three tornadoes were reported with the thunderstorms, with two of them doing significant damage. The tornadic thunderstorms moved northeast by nightfall, with other less severe thunderstorms developing farther south. Monetary damages were estimated. | |||||||||||
| 19.9 | 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 |
| 21.7 | 1991-04-02 | 2 | 36°52'N / 99°17'W | 36°53'N / 99°12'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Woods |
| 22.0 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 24.1 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 24.2 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 26.8 | 1964-08-13 | 2 | 36°51'N / 99°01'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Woods | |||
| 29.0 | 1955-06-18 | 2 | 36°47'N / 99°05'W | 36°49'N / 99°02'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Woods |
| 29.8 | 1970-09-06 | 2 | 36°51'N / 99°42'W | 36°54'N / 99°33'W | 8.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Harper |
| 29.8 | 1974-06-10 | 2 | 37°31'N / 98°54'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pratt | |
| 31.0 | 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 |
| 32.0 | 2008-05-23 | 2 | 37°22'N / 98°45'W | 37°27'N / 98°44'W | 7.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Barber |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado produced EF2 damage to trees and turned sharply northwest as it dissipated. 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. | |||||||||||
| 32.9 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 33.2 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 33.4 | 1952-04-30 | 2 | 36°46'N / 99°05'W | 36°46'N / 98°50'W | 13.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Woods |
| 33.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 36.2 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 37.5 | 2002-05-07 | 2 | 37°39'N / 99°00'W | 37°42'N / 98°54'W | 7.50 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Pratt |
| Brief Description: This tornado moved in from Kiowa county. No injuries due to adequate warning. | |||||||||||
| 37.6 | 2008-05-23 | 3 | 36°40'N / 99°33'W | 36°43'N / 99°31'W | 5.00 Miles | 1100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Harper |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A strong tornado, rated EF3 at its peak intensity, struck south-southwest of the Selman area, producing widespread damage along its path. The tornado touched down, doing minor damage to trees and outbuildings. The tornado continued moving northeast and struck a residence. Significant damage consistent with EF2 damage was seen at this location. More significant damage was done to a residence and stocked workshop building as the tornado moved northeast. This was the strongest point of the tornado, rated EF3. A semi-cab and a 20-horse trailer were blown 50 yards from inside of the workshop. They both sustained significant damage. The tornado moved north from this point, doing EF2 damage to a building and workshop. The owners of the home took shelter in their storm shelter during the tornado, but became trapped inside by debris over top of the door. They were freed by local firemen after approximately 45 minutes. The tornado continued north and then northwest as it began to dissipate. Before it dissipated, however, a heavy fiberglass water tank that was filled with water was destroyed and moved some distance away. Two horses were also killed and one was seriously injured by swirling tin and other sharp debris. Monetary damages were estimated. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon ahead of a dry line that was located near the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma border. The thunderstorms quickly became supercells as they moved toward southwest Kansas. Very large hail was the initial threat, although a significant tornado threat became apparent as they neared the Kansas border. Three tornadoes were reported with the thunderstorms, with two of them doing significant damage. The tornadic thunderstorms moved northeast by nightfall, with other less severe thunderstorms developing farther south. Monetary damages were estimated. | |||||||||||
| 37.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 38.0 | 1964-05-05 | 2 | 37°30'N / 98°41'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pratt | |||
| 38.1 | 1959-07-10 | 2 | 37°38'N / 99°40'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ford | |||
| 38.9 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 41.1 | 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 |
| 41.5 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 41.7 | 1953-05-29 | 2 | 37°29'N / 99°55'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ford | |||
| 41.8 | 1957-04-22 | 2 | 37°30'N / 98°36'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pratt | |||
| 43.0 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 43.1 | 1955-06-17 | 2 | 37°20'N / 100°01'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Clark | |||
| 43.1 | 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 |
| 43.3 | 1955-06-17 | 2 | 36°45'N / 98°42'W | 36°47'N / 98°39'W | 3.60 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Woods |
| 43.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 43.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 43.8 | 2007-05-04 | 3 | 37°45'N / 99°00'W | 37°49'N / 98°57'W | 6.00 Miles | 2110 Yards | 1 | 1 | 0K | 0K | Pratt |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado moved across out of southeast Edwards county at 2148 CST and grew into a large tornado of a little more than a mile wide. A male was killed near Hopewell as a basement wall collapsed on him when his home was demolished. Very little of the home was left visible. 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. | |||||||||||
| 43.9 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 44.2 | 1976-04-17 | 4 | 37°04'N / 98°32'W | 37°19'N / 98°22'W | 19.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Barber |
| 44.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 45.1 | 1965-06-04 | 2 | 36°36'N / 98°54'W | 1.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Woods | |
| 45.5 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 45.6 | 1972-07-28 | 2 | 37°27'N / 100°01'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clark | |
| 45.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 46.2 | 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 |
| 46.2 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 46.3 | 1950-05-04 | 2 | 36°34'N / 99°34'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Woodward | |
| 47.0 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 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 |
| 47.5 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 36°41'N / 98°40'W | 36°48'N / 98°32'W | 10.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Woods |
| 47.8 | 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 |
| 48.4 | 1960-04-12 | 2 | 36°42'N / 99°53'W | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Harper | |||
| 48.5 | 1951-04-05 | 2 | 36°32'N / 98°55'W | 36°34'N / 98°52'W | 3.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 3K | 0 | Woods |
| 48.6 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 48.8 | 1991-05-15 | 3 | 36°39'N / 99°59'W | 36°45'N / 99°48'W | 11.50 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Harper |
| 48.9 | 1956-04-02 | 3 | 36°48'N / 98°32'W | 36°54'N / 98°25'W | 9.20 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Alfalfa |
| 49.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 49.4 | 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 |
| 49.4 | 1967-06-11 | 2 | 37°06'N / 98°35'W | 37°24'N / 98°08'W | 32.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barber |
| 49.7 | 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 |
| 49.8 | 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.