Kansas, 1971

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 31, 1971

May 31, 1971 · 15 events in 8 counties and zones

5 hail, 5 tornado, 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
3
Property damage
$305,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

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

5 hail, 5 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Osage

When
May 31, 4:50 PM CST
Where
Osage County
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
38.780, -95.580

Hail, Cheyenne

When
May 31, 4:55 PM CST
Where
Cheyenne County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.780, -101.780

Tornado, Cheyenne

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Cheyenne County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
39.620, -101.570

Hail, Lyon

When
May 31, 5:35 PM CST
Where
Lyon County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
38.380, -96.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyon

When
May 31, 6:04 PM CST
Where
Lyon County
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Coordinates
38.280, -96.180

Tornado, Johnson

When
May 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Johnson County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.9 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
38.800, -94.650

Hail, Morris

When
May 31, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Morris County
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
38.700, -96.500

Tornado, Marion

When
May 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Marion County
Rating
F2
Path length
6.2 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
38.200, -97.250

Tornado, Marion

When
May 31, 8:45 PM CST
Where
Marion County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.9 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
38.230, -97.150

Tornado, Allen

When
May 31, 9:45 PM CST
Where
Allen County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
300 yd
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
37.920, -95.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Bourbon

When
May 31, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Bourbon County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.780, -95.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Allen

When
May 31, 10:01 PM CST
Where
Allen County
Coordinates
37.880, -95.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Bourbon

When
May 31, 10:15 PM CST
Where
Bourbon County
Coordinates
37.880, -94.780

Hail, Bourbon

When
May 31, 10:50 PM CST
Where
Bourbon County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.780, -94.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Bourbon

When
May 31, 10:50 PM CST
Where
Bourbon County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.780, -94.680

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 1971Every state in 1971This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1971

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: 10022053, 10022054, 10022055, 10022056, 10022057, 10022058, 10022059, 10022060, 10022061, 10022062, 10022063, 10022064, 10022065, 10022066, 10022067.