Kansas, 1996

Tornadoes in Kansas, May 26, 1996

May 26, 1996 · NWS DDC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The thunderstorm that produced the F2 tornado in Seward and Haskell counties spun up an even bigger tornado further into Haskell and Gray counties. The tornado took a few trees in Haskell county.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2.0 million
Crop damage
$150,000
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS DDC wrote it up.

The thunderstorm that produced the F2 tornado in Seward and Haskell counties spun up an even bigger tornado further into Haskell and Gray counties. The tornado took a few trees in Haskell county. In Gray county...34 irrigation sprinklers systems were damaged or destroyed...power poles were snapped...2 houses were damaged...a barn was destroyed...a truck overturned...flood irrigation pipe was tossed like match sticks. In fact...one witness reported the 30 foot pieces of pipe were 4 or 5 hundred feet in the air. In addition...3 inch high corn plants were completely removed...leaving the field bare. Several people video taping the tornado were chased by the tornado...only to take shelter under a bridge. The tornado passed about 1/2 mile east of them while they watched 5 inch diameter hail pound the ground.

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Haskell

When
May 26, 3:35 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, Sublette to 8 mi NE of Sublette
Rating
F0
Path length
6 mi
Path width
150 yd
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
37.570, -100.750

Tornado, Gray

When
May 26, 3:45 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
Where
Gray County, Sublette to 15 mi NE of Ingalls
Rating
F3
Path length
22 mi
Path width
900 yd
Property damage
$2.0 million
Crop damage
$150,000
Coordinates
37.630, -100.650

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1996Warnings in Kansas, May 1996

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: 5572634, 5572635.