Kansas, 1987

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 18, 1987

May 18, 1987 · 7 events in 6 counties and zones

3 hail, 2 tornado, 2 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
0
Property damage
$2.8 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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

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

Tornado, Chase

When
May 18, 4:07 PM CST
Where
Chase County
Rating
F2
Path length
3 mi
Path width
300 yd
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
38.450, -96.380

Tornado, Lyon

When
May 18, 4:35 PM CST
Where
Lyon County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
38.400, -96.250

Hail, Wyandotte

When
May 18, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Wyandotte County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.130, -94.870

Hail, Johnson

When
May 18, 6:25 PM CST
Where
Johnson County
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
38.980, -94.670

Hail, Wyandotte

When
May 18, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Wyandotte County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.120, -94.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Sherman

When
May 18, 9:03 PM CST
Where
Sherman County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
39.280, -101.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Bourbon

When
May 18, 9:55 PM CST
Where
Bourbon County
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates
37.800, -94.770

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 1987Every state in 1987This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1987Warnings in Kansas, May 1987

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: 10036263, 10036264, 10036265, 10036266, 10036267, 10036268, 10036269.