Tornado, Cowley
- When
- May 16, 12:43 PM CST
- Where
- Cowley County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 4.3 mi
- Path width
- 127 yd
- Property damage
- $30
- Coordinates
- 37.170, -97.130
Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 16, 1957
8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $260,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Event by event
8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Elk
- When
- May 16, 2:45 PM CST
- Where
- Elk County
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $30
- Coordinates
- 37.380, -96.420
Tornado, Greenwood
- When
- May 16, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Greenwood County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 13.5 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Coordinates
- 37.620, -96.170
Tornado, Chautauqua
- When
- May 16, 4:18 PM CST
- Where
- Chautauqua County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 39.3 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 37.230, -95.980
Tornado, Elk
- When
- May 16, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Elk County
- Path length
- 3.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 37.400, -96.450
Tornado, Elk
- When
- May 16, 4:35 PM CST
- Where
- Elk County
- Path length
- 3.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 37.400, -96.450
Tornado, Elk
- When
- May 16, 4:40 PM CST
- Where
- Elk County
- Path length
- 4.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 37.350, -96.370
Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery
- When
- May 16, 4:40 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County
- Coordinates
- 37.280, -95.780
Tornado, Elk
- When
- May 16, 4:50 PM CST
- Where
- Elk County
- Path length
- 4.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 37.350, -96.370
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1957Every state in 1957This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1957
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10028864, 10028865, 10028866, 10028867, 10028868, 10028869, 10028870, 10028871, 10028872.