Kansas, 1989

Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 21, 1989

May 21, 1989 · NWS TOP · 54 events in 30 counties and zones

31 hail, 22 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
54

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

31 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Norton

When
May 21, 6:24 AM CST
Where
Norton County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.830, -99.880

Hail, Lincoln

When
May 21, 8:15 AM CST
Where
Lincoln County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.030, -98.250

Hail, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 8:18 AM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.630, -97.780

Hail, Ottawa

When
May 21, 8:20 AM CST
Where
Ottawa County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.280, -97.770

Hail, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 8:26 AM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.680, -97.370

Hail, Ottawa

When
May 21, 8:35 AM CST
Where
Ottawa County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.130, -97.720

Hail, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 8:44 AM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
37.700, -97.330

Hail, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 9:02 AM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.700, -97.330

Hail, Saline

When
May 21, 9:05 AM CST
Where
Saline County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
38.770, -97.870

Hail, Ellsworth

When
May 21, 9:10 AM CST
Where
Ellsworth County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.730, -98.020

Hail, Saline

When
May 21, 9:20 AM CST
Where
Saline County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.800, -97.750

Hail, Butler

When
May 21, 9:35 AM CST
Where
Butler County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.530, -96.980

Hail, Butler

When
May 21, 9:50 AM CST
Where
Butler County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.580, -96.820

Hail, Saline

When
May 21, 9:52 AM CST
Where
Saline County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.830, -97.600

Hail, Marion

When
May 21, 10:24 AM CST
Where
Marion County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
38.250, -97.350

Hail, Harvey

When
May 21, 11:15 AM CST
Where
Harvey County
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
37.920, -97.420

Hail, Elk

When
May 21, 11:16 AM CST
Where
Elk County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.470, -96.270

Hail, Montgomery

When
May 21, 12:02 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.250, -95.970

Hail, Chautauqua

When
May 21, 12:03 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.130, -96.180

Hail, Montgomery

When
May 21, 12:09 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
37.180, -95.800

Hail, Chautauqua

When
May 21, 12:53 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
37.300, -95.950

Hail, Montgomery

When
May 21, 12:54 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.030, -95.630

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When
May 21, 1:20 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.030, -95.630

Hail, Cherokee

When
May 21, 1:40 PM CST
Where
Cherokee County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.020, -94.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Elk

When
May 21, 1:47 PM CST
Where
Elk County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.380, -96.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Cherokee

When
May 21, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Cherokee County
Coordinates
37.080, -94.700

Tornado, Stanton

When
May 21, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Stanton County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
37.570, -101.800

Hail, Ellis

When
May 21, 8:28 PM CST
Where
Ellis County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
38.670, -99.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Stanton

When
May 21, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Stanton County
Measured
85 kt (98 mph)
Coordinates
37.570, -101.750

Hail, Barton

When
May 21, 8:50 PM CST
Where
Barton County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.630, -99.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Ford

When
May 21, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Ford County
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
37.550, -99.630

Hail, Stevens

When
May 21, 9:10 PM CST
Where
Stevens County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
37.180, -101.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Barton

When
May 21, 9:10 PM CST
Where
Barton County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
38.370, -98.770

Hail, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 9:55 PM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
37.480, -97.650

Hail, Kingman

When
May 21, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Kingman County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
37.450, -97.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Pawnee

When
May 21, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Pawnee County
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
38.250, -99.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Kiowa

When
May 21, 10:05 PM CST
Where
Kiowa County
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
37.580, -99.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Pratt

When
May 21, 10:05 PM CST
Where
Pratt County
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
37.650, -98.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When
May 21, 10:10 PM CST
Where
Clark County
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
37.230, -99.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Stafford

When
May 21, 10:10 PM CST
Where
Stafford County
Coordinates
38.220, -98.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Stafford

When
May 21, 10:20 PM CST
Where
Stafford County
Coordinates
38.020, -98.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Reno

When
May 21, 10:30 PM CST
Where
Reno County
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Coordinates
37.820, -98.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Kingman

When
May 21, 10:35 PM CST
Where
Kingman County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.650, -98.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Barber

When
May 21, 10:35 PM CST
Where
Barber County
Coordinates
37.380, -98.920

Thunderstorm Wind, Reno

When
May 21, 10:35 PM CST
Where
Reno County
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
37.970, -98.030

Hail, Harvey

When
May 21, 10:40 PM CST
Where
Harvey County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.050, -97.350

Hail, McPherson

When
May 21, 10:55 PM CST
Where
McPherson County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
38.480, -97.520

Hail, Harper

When
May 21, 11:15 PM CST
Where
Harper County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
37.150, -98.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 11:28 PM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.480, -97.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 11:31 PM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
66 kt (76 mph)
Coordinates
37.650, -97.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Sumner

When
May 21, 11:46 PM CST
Where
Sumner County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.270, -97.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Sedgwick

When
May 21, 11:55 PM CST
Where
Sedgwick County
Measured
62 kt (71 mph)
Coordinates
37.620, -97.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Cowley

When
May 21, 11:55 PM CST
Where
Cowley County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
37.250, -97.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Sumner

When
May 21, 11:58 PM CST
Where
Sumner County
Coordinates
37.280, -97.170

What these are

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.
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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1989Every state in 1989This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1989Warnings in Kansas, May 1989

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: 10035861, 10035862, 10035863, 10035864, 10035865, 10036217, 10036218, 10036219, 10036432, 10036433, 10036434, 10036435, 10036436, 10036437, 10036438, 10036439, 10036440, 10036441, 10036442, 10036443, 10036444, 10036445, 10036446, 10036447, 10036448, 10036449, 10036450, 10036451, 10036452, 10036453, 10036454, 10036455, 10036456, 10036457, 10036458, 10036459, 10036460, 10036461, 10036462, 10036463, and more.