Tornadoes · United States · Kansas

1954 tornadoes in Kansas

68 tornadoes touched down in Kansas in 1954, 13 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1953 1955 The whole country in 1954

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Kansas in 1954

March 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 115:55 PM GMT-6F2Osborne0.110$500 to $5,000

March 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 1212:20 PM GMT-6F1Atchison0.110$500 to $5,000

March 18 14 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 1810:30 AM GMT-6F1Sumner0.110$500 to $5,000
March 1811:00 AM GMT-6F0Marion0.110
March 1811:15 AM GMT-6F1Dickinson0.110$500 to $5,000
March 1811:35 AM GMT-6F1Geary2.0440$500 to $5,000
March 1811:55 AM GMT-6F1Chase0.110
March 1812:00 PM GMT-6F1Riley0.333$500 to $5,000
March 1812:00 PM GMT-6F2Brown0.110
March 1812:15 PM GMT-6F1Lyon2.0440$50 to $500
March 1812:25 PM GMT-6F2Wabaunsee0.110$500 to $5,000
March 1812:30 PM GMT-6F1Lyon0.110$50 to $500
March 181:10 PM GMT-6F1Shawnee0.110$500 to $5,000
March 181:15 PM GMT-6F1Brown2.5133$50 to $500
March 181:15 PM GMT-6F2Osage0.110$500 to $5,000
March 181:30 PM GMT-6F1Jefferson0.1100

March 24 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 248:30 PM GMT-6F2Miami0.110$500 to $5,000
March 249:00 PM GMT-6F2Neosho22.2880$5,000 to $50,000
March 249:30 PM GMT-6F1Montgomery2.0440$5,000 to $50,000
March 249:45 PM GMT-6F1Cherokee0.117

April 5 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 56:45 PM GMT-6F2Riley10.410
April 57:30 PM GMT-6F1Jackson3.3100$5,000 to $50,000

April 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 106:30 PM GMT-6F2Coffey0.110$500 to $5,000

April 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2512:40 AM GMT-6F2Ellsworth0.110
April 257:45 PM GMT-5F2Trego0.110$5,000 to $50,000

April 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 265:20 PM GMT-5F2Lyon1.020$500 to $5,000

April 29 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 298:15 PM GMT-5F0Sedgwick0.110
April 2912:00 AM GMT-5F0Montgomery0.850$500 to $5,000

May 1 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 17:05 PM GMT-5F2Reno0.3300$500 to $5,000
May 17:30 PM GMT-5F2Montgomery5.633$5,000 to $50,000
May 17:30 PM GMT-5F2Labette5.110

May 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 262:30 PM GMT-7F2Hamilton0.5100$50,000 to $500,000

May 31 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 313:50 PM GMT-5F0Anderson0.110
May 314:30 PM GMT-5F2Neosho48.6210$5,000 to $50,000
May 314:30 PM GMT-5F2Neosho48.6210$5,000 to $50,000
May 315:10 PM GMT-5F2Johnson2.010$5,000 to $50,000

June 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 612:03 AM GMT-5F1Ford0.510$500 to $5,000

June 10 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 107:00 PM GMT-5F1Haskell15.810$5,000 to $50,000
June 108:00 PM GMT-5F2Kearny0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 109:00 PM GMT-5F2Finney7.0150$5,000 to $50,000

June 11 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 118:30 PM GMT-5F1Trego0.110$500 to $5,000
June 119:00 PM GMT-5F0Lyon0.110

June 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 129:33 PM GMT-5F0Pawnee0.110

June 14 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 142:30 PM GMT-5F0Barber2.0440$50 to $500
June 143:45 PM GMT-5F0Russell5.4880$500 to $5,000
June 148:00 PM GMT-5F0Harper4.510$500 to $5,000

June 15 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 151:30 PM GMT-5F0Ellsworth0.110
June 151:30 PM GMT-5F0Ellsworth0.110

June 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 215:15 PM GMT-5F1Cloud3.010

June 30 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 307:30 PM GMT-5F0Johnson1.010$500 to $5,000

July 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 14:08 PM GMT-5F0Saline0.110

July 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 56:00 PM GMT-5F1Coffey0.110$5,000 to $50,000

July 22 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 223:45 PM GMT-5F1Marion0.110$500 to $5,000
July 229:00 PM GMT-5F2Labette11.2440

August 5 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 55:30 PM GMT-5F2Marion19.610
August 56:15 PM GMT-5F1Kiowa73.010
August 56:15 PM GMT-5F2Reno0.110
August 57:30 PM GMT-5F1Franklin2.0200$5,000 to $50,000
August 59:15 PM GMT-5F1Franklin1.03002$5,000 to $50,000

August 7 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 76:30 PM GMT-5F0Labette1.9400

August 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 87:30 PM GMT-5F2Marion10.850$500 to $5,000

August 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 225:00 PM GMT-5F0Jewell2.0800

August 23 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 236:45 PM GMT-5F1Saline0.110

August 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 293:00 PM GMT-5F0McPherson0.110

September 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 93:00 AM GMT-5F2Sedgwick0.110

October 4 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 46:00 PM GMT-6F2Sedgwick0.110$5,000 to $50,000

October 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 113:00 AM GMT-6F3Ellis8.610$5,000 to $50,000

October 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 2612:05 AM GMT-6F1Seward0.1100$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in KansasThe live radar over Kansas

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.