Thunderstorm Wind, Norton
- When
- May 31, 1:40 AM CST
- Where
- Norton County
- Coordinates
- 39.830, -99.880
Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 31, 1978
7 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado, 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
- 3
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $2.8 million
- 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
7 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Phillips
- When
- May 31, 1:55 AM CST
- Where
- Phillips County
- Measured
- 72 kt (83 mph)
- Coordinates
- 39.750, -99.320
Tornado, Pottawatomie
- When
- May 31, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawatomie County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 18.9 mi
- Path width
- 1,300 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 39.320, -96.380
Hail, Saline
- When
- May 31, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Saline County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 38.680, -97.600
Thunderstorm Wind, Pottawatomie
- When
- May 31, 3:50 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawatomie County
- Coordinates
- 39.270, -96.170
Tornado, Jackson
- When
- May 31, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 18.1 mi
- Path width
- 1,300 yd
- Deaths
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 39.370, -96.030
Hail, Riley
- When
- May 31, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Riley County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.430, -96.770
Hail, Harper
- When
- May 31, 4:50 PM CST
- Where
- Harper County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.230, -98.230
Hail, Pottawatomie
- When
- May 31, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawatomie County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.300, -96.050
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 31, 5:45 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Coordinates
- 39.250, -95.530
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 31, 5:45 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Coordinates
- 39.330, -95.550
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 31, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Coordinates
- 39.300, -95.520
Hail, Shawnee
- When
- May 31, 6:05 PM CST
- Where
- Shawnee County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.120, -95.680
Hail, Shawnee
- When
- May 31, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Shawnee County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.050, -95.680
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 31, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Coordinates
- 39.320, -95.200
What these are
- 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.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1978Every state in 1978This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1978
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: 10023947, 10023948, 10023949, 10023950, 10023951, 10023952, 10023953, 10023954, 10023955, 10023956, 10023957, 10023958, 10023959, 10023960, 10023961.