Kansas, 1981

Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 8, 1981

May 8, 1981 · 12 events in 9 counties and zones

9 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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

9 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Sedgwick

When
May 8, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
17 yd
Coordinates
37.850, -97.380

Hail, Seward

When
May 8, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Seward County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
37.330, -100.720

Hail, Meade

When
May 8, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Meade County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
37.330, -100.330

Hail, Hodgeman

When
May 8, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Hodgeman County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.130, -99.700

Hail, Comanche

When
May 8, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Comanche County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
37.250, -99.250

Hail, Meade

When
May 8, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Meade County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.280, -100.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Morton

When
May 8, 7:54 PM CST
Where
Morton County
Measured
67 kt (77 mph)
Coordinates
37.020, -101.880

Hail, Hodgeman

When
May 8, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Hodgeman County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
38.170, -99.670

Hail, Pawnee

When
May 8, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Pawnee County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
38.170, -99.580

Hail, Clark

When
May 8, 9:15 PM CST
Where
Clark County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.070, -99.770

Hail, Lincoln

When
May 8, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.000, -98.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When
May 8, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln County
Coordinates
39.000, -98.250

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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1981

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: 10021520, 10021521, 10021522, 10021523, 10021524, 10021525, 10021526, 10021527, 10021528, 10021529, 10021530, 10021531.