Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 30, 1972

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 30, 1972
Start: 1972-04-30T15:17
End: 1972-04-30T23:25
Location: Kansas

April 30, 1972 · 39 events in 23 counties and zones

18 hail, 11 tornado, 10 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: 9
Property damage: $1.6 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 39

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

18 hail, 11 tornado, 10 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Ford

When: April 30, 3:17 PM CST
Where: Ford County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 37.780, -100.000

Hail, Ford

When: April 30, 3:19 PM CST
Where: Ford County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 37.780, -100.000

Hail, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 37.580, -97.580

Hail, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 3:52 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 37.580, -97.400

Tornado, Lane

When: April 30, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Lane County
Rating: F3
Path length: 13.1 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.530, -100.370

Hail, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 4:03 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 37.700, -97.580

Hail, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 4:05 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 37.580, -97.400

Hail, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 4:18 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Coordinates: 37.580, -97.280

Tornado, Ellis

When: April 30, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Ellis County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.5 mi
Path width: 127 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.920, -99.380

Tornado, Lane

When: April 30, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Lane County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 38.650, -100.480

Hail, Coffey

When: April 30, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Coffey County
Measured: 2.5 in hail
Coordinates: 38.380, -95.580

Tornado, Pawnee

When: April 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Pawnee County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17 mi
Path width: 77 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.220, -99.500

Tornado, Ness

When: April 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Ness County
Rating: F3
Path length: 6.8 mi
Path width: 440 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 38.550, -100.030

Hail, Butler

When: April 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Butler County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 37.700, -97.000

Hail, Butler

When: April 30, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Butler County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 37.780, -96.580

Tornado, Hodgeman

When: April 30, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Hodgeman County
Rating: F4
Path length: 24.3 mi
Path width: 77 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.080, -100.100

Tornado, Ness

When: April 30, 6:38 PM CST
Where: Ness County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.7 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.450, -99.720

Hail, Miami

When: April 30, 6:56 PM CST
Where: Miami County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 38.500, -95.000

Tornado, Ness

When: April 30, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Ness County
Rating: F4
Path length: 2.3 mi
Path width: 77 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.270, -99.720

Hail, Johnson

When: April 30, 7:24 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.780, -94.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawnee

When: April 30, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County
Coordinates: 39.000, -95.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Barton

When: April 30, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Barton County
Coordinates: 38.500, -98.780

Tornado, Ellsworth

When: April 30, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Ellsworth County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.580, -98.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Saline

When: April 30, 8:35 PM CST
Where: Saline County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 38.780, -97.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: April 30, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)
Coordinates: 39.200, -97.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Dickinson

When: April 30, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Dickinson County
Coordinates: 38.880, -97.180

Tornado, Dickinson

When: April 30, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Dickinson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.920, -97.230

Hail, Osage

When: April 30, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.700, -95.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: April 30, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Coordinates: 38.580, -95.080

Hail, Osage

When: April 30, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 38.700, -95.680

Hail, Riley

When: April 30, 9:58 PM CST
Where: Riley County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.200, -96.680

Hail, Johnson

When: April 30, 10:05 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.780, -94.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: April 30, 10:05 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Coordinates: 38.780, -94.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyon

When: April 30, 10:12 PM CST
Where: Lyon County
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates: 38.280, -96.180

Tornado, Johnson

When: April 30, 10:16 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Rating: F2
Path width: 233 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.750, -94.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Miami

When: April 30, 10:20 PM CST
Where: Miami County
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph)
Coordinates: 38.700, -94.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Sedgwick

When: April 30, 10:27 PM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Coordinates: 37.580, -97.280

Hail, Douglas

When: April 30, 10:42 PM CST
Where: Douglas County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.000, -95.500

Hail, Leavenworth

When: April 30, 11:25 PM CST
Where: Leavenworth County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.280, -94.900

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

Every storm in Kansas in 1972 Every state in 1972 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 1972

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: 10024372, 10024373, 10024374, 10024375, 10024376, 10024377, 10024378, 10024379, 10024380, 10024381, 10024382, 10024383, 10024384, 10024385, 10024386, 10024387, 10024388, 10024389, 10024390, 10024391, 10024392, 10024393, 10024394, 10024395, 10024396, 10024397, 10024398, 10024399, 10024400, 10024401, 10024402, 10024403, 10024404, 10021030, 10021031, 10021032, 10021033, 10021252, 10021253.