Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, September 25, 1973

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, September 25, 1973
Start: 1973-09-25T14:30
End: 1973-09-25T23:30
Location: Kansas

September 25, 1973 · 25 events in 19 counties and zones

18 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 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: 3
Injuries: 36
Property damage: $251 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 25

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 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, McPherson

When: September 25, 2:30 PM CST
Where: McPherson County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.530, -97.820

Tornado, Rice

When: September 25, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Rice County
Rating: F3
Path length: 22.7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 38.350, -98.020

Tornado, Saline

When: September 25, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Saline County
Rating: F3
Path length: 29 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 38.620, -97.770

Tornado, Ottawa

When: September 25, 4:20 PM CST
Where: Ottawa County
Rating: F3
Path length: 20.7 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.050, -97.580

Tornado, Cloud

When: September 25, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Cloud County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.300, -97.600

Tornado, Ottawa

When: September 25, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Ottawa County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9.4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 38.970, -97.470

Tornado, Dickinson

When: September 25, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Dickinson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4.7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.080, -97.370

Hail, Saline

When: September 25, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Saline County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.820, -97.570

Tornado, Cloud

When: September 25, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Cloud County
Rating: F3
Path length: 49.2 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.300, -97.370

Tornado, Meade

When: September 25, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Meade County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5.7 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.100, -100.080

Tornado, Ford

When: September 25, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Ford County
Rating: F3
Path length: 8.8 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.620, -99.750

Tornado, Clay

When: September 25, 5:51 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F3
Path length: 19.8 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 20 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.130, -97.300

Tornado, Clay

When: September 25, 5:51 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F3
Path length: 13.3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.380, -97.120

Tornado, Washington

When: September 25, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Washington County
Rating: F3
Path length: 11.9 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.570, -97.030

Tornado, Edwards

When: September 25, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Edwards County
Rating: F3
Path length: 18.5 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.800, -99.300

Tornado, Comanche

When: September 25, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Comanche County
Rating: F3
Path length: 58 mi
Path width: 80 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.130, -99.520

Tornado, Marshall

When: September 25, 6:52 PM CST
Where: Marshall County
Rating: F3
Path length: 20.7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 39.730, -96.970

Tornado, Smith

When: September 25, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Smith County
Rating: F2
Path length: 27.9 mi
Path width: 80 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 39.730, -98.970

Hail, Jewell

When: September 25, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Jewell County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 39.900, -98.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Edwards

When: September 25, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Edwards County
Coordinates: 37.920, -99.420

Thunderstorm Wind, Pawnee

When: September 25, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Pawnee County
Coordinates: 38.180, -99.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Kiowa

When: September 25, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Kiowa County
Coordinates: 37.600, -99.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Stafford

When: September 25, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Stafford County
Coordinates: 38.020, -98.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Pratt

When: September 25, 10:20 PM CST
Where: Pratt County
Coordinates: 37.650, -98.730

Tornado, Clay

When: September 25, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.9 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.480, -97.330

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Ottawa	1973-09-25				Direct

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 1973 Every state in 1973 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 1973

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: 10020261, 10020262, 10020263, 10020264, 10020265, 10020266, 10020267, 10020268, 10020269, 10020270, 10020271, 10020272, 10020273, 10020274, 10020275, 10020276, 10020277, 10020278, 10020279, 10020280, 10020281, 10020282, 10020283, 10020284, 10020285.