Kansas, 1998

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 14, 1998

April 14, 1998 · NWS GLD · 8 events in 2 counties and zones

4 tornado, 4 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
0
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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.

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:05 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 tornado, 4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Decatur

When
April 14, 3:06 PM CST to 3:13 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, Oberlin to 6 mi W of Oberlin
Rating
F1
Path length
1.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$2,000
Coordinates
39.820, -100.630

Landspout tornado observed by personnel from KFNF radio station hit farmstead and slightly damaged home and outbuildings. Tornado moved ESE across U. S. Highway 36 before dissipating around 1513 CST.

Tornado, Decatur

When
April 14, 3:15 PM CST to 3:35 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, Oberlin to 6 mi E of Oberlin
Rating
F1
Path length
7.5 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
39.850, -100.620

Tornado moved southeast then east until it passed 1.5 miles north of Oberlin; then it moved southeast again. Siding was torn from residence 1.5 miles north of Oberlin. At the golf course...a tree was taken down and a window was broken.

Tornado, Decatur

When
April 14, 3:25 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, 4 mi N of Oberlin
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
39.870, -100.520

Brief tornado observed by law enforcement.

Hail, Decatur

When
April 14, 3:28 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, 2 mi NW of Oberlin
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
39.830, -100.530

Hail, Decatur

When
April 14, 3:45 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, Oberlin
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.820, -100.520

Tornado, Decatur

When
April 14, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, 6 mi E of Oberlin
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$500
Coordinates
39.820, -100.400

Briief tornado. Individual drove through the tornado. Side view mirrors and windshield wipers were ripped from vehicle.

Hail, Decatur

When
April 14, 4:26 PM CST
Where
Decatur County, Lyle
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
39.950, -100.220

Hail, Norton

When
April 14, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Norton County, 10 mi N of Reager
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
39.980, -100.100

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1998Warnings in Kansas, April 1998

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: 5638957, 5639058, 5639059, 5639062, 5639061, 5639060, 5639063, 5639064.