Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 15, 1991

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 15, 1991
Start: 1991-05-15T16:58
End: 1991-05-15T21:14
Location: Kansas

May 15, 1991 · NWS DDC · 36 events in 14 counties and zones

24 tornado, 10 hail, 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: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 36

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 tornado, 10 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Wallace

When: May 15, 4:58 PM CST
Where: Wallace County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Coordinates: 38.770, -101.580

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Coordinates: 37.980, -100.870

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Coordinates: 37.970, -100.950

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.920, -100.930

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.920, -100.930

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.920, -100.930

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.920, -100.930

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.920, -100.930

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 73 yd
Coordinates: 37.880, -100.870

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Coordinates: 37.930, -100.820

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 37.930, -100.820

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 57 yd
Coordinates: 37.930, -100.820

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Coordinates: 37.930, -100.820

Tornado, Wichita

When: May 15, 5:27 PM CST
Where: Wichita County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 38.480, -101.120

Tornado, Wichita

When: May 15, 5:27 PM CST
Where: Wichita County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 38.500, -101.330

Tornado, Wichita

When: May 15, 5:27 PM CST
Where: Wichita County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 38.330, -101.120

Tornado, Wichita

When: May 15, 5:27 PM CST
Where: Wichita County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 38.350, -101.350

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.8 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Coordinates: 37.830, -100.870

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.8 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Coordinates: 37.830, -100.870

Tornado, Scott

When: May 15, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Scott County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 38.480, -101.100

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.5 mi
Path width: 57 yd
Coordinates: 37.970, -100.800

Tornado, Finney

When: May 15, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Finney County
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.5 mi
Path width: 57 yd
Coordinates: 37.970, -100.800

Tornado, Sherman

When: May 15, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Sherman County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 39.130, -101.450

Hail, Sherman

When: May 15, 6:08 PM CST
Where: Sherman County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.330, -101.720

Hail, Sherman

When: May 15, 6:20 PM CST
Where: Sherman County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.330, -101.500

Hail, Gray

When: May 15, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Gray County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 37.720, -100.670

Hail, Sherman

When: May 15, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Sherman County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.350, -101.450

Hail, Thomas

When: May 15, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Thomas County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 39.400, -101.370

Hail, Sherman

When: May 15, 7:05 PM CST
Where: Sherman County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.450, -101.400

Tornado, Lane

When: May 15, 7:09 PM CST
Where: Lane County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.480, -100.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When: May 15, 7:21 PM CST
Where: Clark County
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph)
Coordinates: 37.430, -99.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Ford

When: May 15, 7:21 PM CST
Where: Ford County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 37.750, -100.120

Hail, Rawlins

When: May 15, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Rawlins County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.780, -101.250

Hail, Ness

When: May 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Ness County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 38.630, -99.930

Hail, Sheridan

When: May 15, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Sheridan County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.520, -100.570

Hail, Decatur

When: May 15, 9:14 PM CST
Where: Decatur County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 39.900, -100.520

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

Every storm in Kansas in 1991 Every state in 1991 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Kansas, 1991 Warnings in Kansas, May 1991

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: 10036805, 10036806, 10036807, 10036808, 10036809, 10036810, 10036811, 10036812, 10036813, 10036814, 10036815, 10036816, 10036817, 10036818, 10036819, 10036820, 10036821, 10036822, 10036823, 10036824, 10036825, 10036826, 10036827, 10036828, 10036829, 10036830, 10036831, 10036832, 10036833, 10036834, 10036835, 10036836, 10036837, 10036838, 10036839, 10036840.