Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, Thornburg
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.950, -98.780
Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 22, 1999
Very severe thunderstorms rolled southeast across north-central Kansas spawning a tornado and causing extensive crop damage. The tornado was reported southeast of Osborne and passed directly over at least one farm.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- $5.3 million
- Events
- 13
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 GID wrote it up.
Very severe thunderstorms rolled southeast across north-central Kansas spawning a tornado and causing extensive crop damage. The tornado was reported southeast of Osborne and passed directly over at least one farm. The siding was torn from the home, implements were twisted and blown up to one quarter mile from their original position. The tornado caused extensive tree damage as it moved northeast along the Indian Creek basin.Hail and wind was the problem across Smith county. Wind driven hail, up to 3 inches in diameter, caused millions in crop loss near Cora. The storm also damaged crops in extreme eastern Phillips county. Though not quite as extensive, similar damage was reported in Osborne and Mitchell counties from the wind, hail and heavy rains.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
11 hail, 1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 7:35 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, 5 mi W of Reamsville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.930, -98.970
Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, 1 mi N of Cora
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $2.5 million
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.900, -98.670
Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, Lebanon
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.820, -98.550
Hail, Rooks
- When
- May 22, 8:04 PM CST
- Where
- Rooks County, 10 mi N of Stockton
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.580, -99.280
Hail, Osborne
- When
- May 22, 8:05 PM CST
- Where
- Osborne County, Alton
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $1.0 million
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.470, -98.950
Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 8:15 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, Thornburg
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.950, -98.780
Hail, Smith
- When
- May 22, 8:15 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, Lebanon
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 39.820, -98.550
Hail, Jewell
- When
- May 22, 8:20 PM CST
- Where
- Jewell County, Esbon
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.820, -98.430
Hail, Osborne
- When
- May 22, 8:28 PM CST
- Where
- Osborne County, Osborne
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.430, -98.700
Tornado, Osborne
- When
- May 22, 8:30 PM CST to 8:41 PM CST
- Where
- Osborne County, Osborne to 5 mi E of Osborne
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 6 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Crop damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.380, -98.630
Hail, Mitchell
- When
- May 22, 9:10 PM CST
- Where
- Mitchell County, 5 mi SW of Asherville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 39.370, -98.050
Thunderstorm Wind, Mitchell
- When
- May 22, 9:12 PM CST
- Where
- Mitchell County, 9 mi S of Simpson
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 39.250, -97.930
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- 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.
- 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
- Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, May 22, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 22, 1999
- Hail in Kansas, May 22, 1999
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, May 22, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 22, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 22, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 22, 1999
- Hail in Nebraska, May 22, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 22, 1999
- Hail in Georgia, May 22, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 22, 1999
- Hail in Kansas, May 22, 1999
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kansas, 1999Warnings in Kansas, May 1999
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: 5699078, 5699079, 5699080, 5699081, 5699082, 5699083, 5699084, 5699085, 5699086, 5699406, 5699407, 5699408, 5699409.