Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, November 15, 1988

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, November 15, 1988
Start: 1988-11-15T11:40
End: 1988-11-15T15:15
Location: Kansas

November 15, 1988 · NWS TOP · 33 events in 21 counties and zones

24 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 3 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: 0
Injuries: 24
Property damage: $2.6 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 33

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

24 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sedgwick

When: November 15, 11:40 AM CST
Where: Sedgwick County
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Coordinates: 37.700, -97.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Sumner

When: November 15, 11:40 AM CST
Where: Sumner County
Coordinates: 37.280, -97.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Butler

When: November 15, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Butler County
Coordinates: 37.570, -97.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Harvey

When: November 15, 11:50 AM CST
Where: Harvey County
Coordinates: 38.050, -97.600

Hail, Dickinson

When: November 15, 11:52 AM CST
Where: Dickinson County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.700, -97.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Harvey

When: November 15, 11:55 AM CST
Where: Harvey County
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)
Coordinates: 38.050, -97.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Cowley

When: November 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cowley County
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates: 37.130, -96.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Cowley

When: November 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cowley County
Coordinates: 37.280, -97.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Cowley

When: November 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cowley County
Coordinates: 37.330, -96.750

Hail, Riley

When: November 15, 12:25 PM CST
Where: Riley County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 39.430, -96.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Morris

When: November 15, 12:35 PM CST
Where: Morris County
Coordinates: 38.570, -96.820

Hail, Shawnee

When: November 15, 12:43 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.130, -95.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: November 15, 1:10 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Coordinates: 37.280, -95.920

Thunderstorm Wind, Osage

When: November 15, 1:20 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Coordinates: 38.620, -95.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyon

When: November 15, 1:28 PM CST
Where: Lyon County
Coordinates: 38.320, -96.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyon

When: November 15, 1:33 PM CST
Where: Lyon County
Coordinates: 38.630, -96.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Osage

When: November 15, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Coordinates: 38.750, -95.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: November 15, 1:50 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 37.200, -95.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawnee

When: November 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County
Coordinates: 38.900, -95.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Brown

When: November 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Brown County
Coordinates: 39.850, -95.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Wabaunsee

When: November 15, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Wabaunsee County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 38.850, -96.100

Tornado, Neosho

When: November 15, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Neosho County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.450, -95.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Osage

When: November 15, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Osage County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 38.820, -95.630

Tornado, Shawnee

When: November 15, 2:06 PM CST
Where: Shawnee County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 70 yd
Injuries: 22 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 39.050, -95.680

Tornado, Neosho

When: November 15, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Neosho County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.400, -95.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Neosho

When: November 15, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Neosho County
Coordinates: 37.570, -95.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Nemaha

When: November 15, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Nemaha County
Coordinates: 39.730, -96.130

Tornado, Jefferson

When: November 15, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 39.330, -95.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: November 15, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Coordinates: 38.620, -95.220

Tornado, Atchison

When: November 15, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Atchison County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 39.520, -95.400

Tornado, Atchison

When: November 15, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Atchison County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 39.630, -95.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Wyandotte

When: November 15, 3:13 PM CST
Where: Wyandotte County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 39.120, -94.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: November 15, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 38.880, -94.820

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.
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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kansas in 1988 Every state in 1988 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 1988 Warnings in Kansas, November 1988

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: 10034666, 10034667, 10034668, 10034669, 10034670, 10034671, 10034672, 10034673, 10034674, 10034675, 10034676, 10034677, 10034678, 10034679, 10034680, 10034681, 10034682, 10034683, 10034684, 10034685, 10034686, 10034687, 10034688, 10034689, 10034690, 10034691, 10034692, 10034693, 10034694, 10034695, 10034696, 10034697, 10034698.