Kansas, 1998

Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, October 16, 1998

October 16, 1998 · NWS DDC · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$1.2 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 Dodge City radar (KDDC), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Finney

When
October 16, 2:58 PM CST
Where
Finney County, 23 mi E of Garden City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.970, -100.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Finney

When
October 16, 2:58 PM CST
Where
Finney County, 23 mi E of Garden City
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.970, -100.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Ness

When
October 16, 3:17 PM CST
Where
Ness County, 9 mi SW of Ness City
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.350, -100.020

Hail, Ness

When
October 16, 3:25 PM CST
Where
Ness County, 9 mi SW of Ness City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.350, -100.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Ness

When
October 16, 3:50 PM CST
Where
Ness County, 9 mi NE of Ness City
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.550, -99.780

Ten inch tree limbs blown down.

Tornado, Trego

When
October 16, 5:54 PM CST to 5:58 PM CST
Where
Trego County, Riga to 14 mi SSE of Riga
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
75 yd
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
38.750, -99.630

Tornado marched on into Ellis county, producing a 26 mile long path.

Tornado, Ellis

When
October 16, 5:58 PM CST to 6:28 PM CST
Where
Ellis County, Yocemento to 11 mi NE of Yocemento
Rating
F3
Path length
23 mi
Path width
1,300 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$1.2 million
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
38.780, -99.570

Tornado that began in eastern Trego county, steadily moved northeast before dissipating north of Hays. The tornado hit several farms in rural Ellis county and slammed into sparsely populated Yocemento. After leaving Yocemento, the tornado tore through a feedyard and on across other parts of rural Ellis county. Fortunately, the tornado stayed just west and north of populated Hays where a high school football game was in progress. The tornado damaged or destroyed 10 homes, a grain elevator, many outbuildings, a tractor and a feedlot. During the weaker moments of the tornado, it moved a 14,000 pound tractor 30 yards. One modular constructed home on a concrete slab was completely destroyed with the remains carried 1/2 of a mile. A steel I-beam from a concrete building travelled several hundred yards, eventually crashing into a grain elevator. Three empty anhydrous ammonia tanks were moved causing a leak of a benign amount of vapour. An injury occurred to a male driving a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 70.

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 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1998Warnings in Kansas, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5669813, 5669814, 5669815, 5669816, 5669817, 5669818, 5669819.