Tornadoes · United States · Kansas

1990 tornadoes in Kansas

87 tornadoes touched down in Kansas in 1990, 44 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 86. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1989 1991 The whole country in 1990

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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 1990

March 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 11	5:00 PM CST	F0	Reno	0.1	50
March 11	5:15 PM CST	F1	Rice	14.0	440			$50,000 to $500,000

March 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 12	11:49 PM CST	F1	Shawnee	5.0	100		1	$50,000 to $500,000

March 13 18 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 13	12:10 AM CST	F1	Jefferson	3.0	100			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	8:36 AM CST	F1	Hodgeman	1.0	23
March 13	4:34 PM CST	F5	Hesston tornado	48.0	1,320	1	60	$5 million to $50 million
March 13	4:48 PM CST	F1	Smith	13.0	220			$5,000 to $50,000
March 13	5:00 PM CST	F1	Jewell	1.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000
March 13	5:30 PM CST	F5	Goessel tornado	22.0	1,320	1		$5 million to $50 million
March 13	6:04 PM CST	F0	Sumner	0.1	50
March 13	6:12 PM CST	F0	Sumner	0.1	50
March 13	6:15 PM CST	F2	Marion	55.0	220			$500,000 to $5 million
March 13	6:20 PM CST	F1	Jewell	5.0	440			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	6:35 PM CST	F1	Harper	12.0	50			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	6:45 PM CST	F1	Jewell	13.0	550			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	6:55 PM CST	F3	McPherson	18.0	200			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	7:00 PM CST	F2	Republic	15.0	440			$500,000 to $5 million
March 13	7:16 PM CST	F0	Republic	0.5	10
March 13	7:50 PM CST	F0	Saline	0.2	10
March 13	8:03 PM CST	F1	Pottawatomie	2.0	50			$50,000 to $500,000
March 13	8:40 PM CST	F0	Cloud	0.2	10

March 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 14	12:45 AM CST	F1	Labette	2.0	50			$50,000 to $500,000

April 9 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 9	7:12 PM CDT	F0	Harvey	20.0	210	$5,000 to $50,000
April 9	8:18 PM CDT	F1	Kingman	7.0	420
April 9	8:50 PM CDT	F0	Kingman	1.0	210

April 25 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 25	3:30 PM CDT	F1	Gray	25.0	50	$5,000 to $50,000
April 25	5:07 PM CDT	F0	Ness	1.0	50	$500 to $5,000
April 25	5:50 PM CDT	F0	Gove	2.0	23	$500 to $5,000
April 25	6:00 PM CDT	F3	Ness	37.0	500	$500,000 to $5 million
April 25	6:08 PM CDT	F1	Rooks	52.0	100	$500,000 to $5 million

May 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 5	2:30 PM CDT	F0	Osage	3.0	20

May 11 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 11	6:02 PM CDT	F0	Scott	0.1	10
May 11	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Scott	2.0	10
May 11	8:45 PM CDT	F0	Finney	0.2	50

May 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 13	7:27 PM CDT	F0	Cheyenne	13.0	10

May 14 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 14	9:20 PM CDT	F0	Sumner	1.0	27
May 14	9:21 PM CDT	F0	Sumner	1.0	27
May 14	9:33 PM CDT	F0	Sumner	0.5	27
May 14	9:48 PM CDT	F0	Chautauqua	0.5	27
May 14	10:10 PM CDT	F0	Chautauqua	1.0	27	$500 to $5,000
May 14	10:15 PM CDT	F0	Montgomery	0.1	20
May 14	10:30 PM CDT	F0	Chautauqua	5.0	27
May 14	10:45 PM CDT	F1	Montgomery	7.0	50	$500 to $5,000

May 15 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 15	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Chase	1.0	10
May 15	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Chase	1.0	10
May 15	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Chase	5.0	27	$5,000 to $50,000
May 15	9:00 PM CDT	F0	Harvey	2.0	27
May 15	9:35 PM CDT	F1	Harvey	20.0	50	$500 to $5,000

May 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 18	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Rawlins	3.0	10			$500 to $5,000
May 18	6:50 PM CDT	F1	Decatur	3.0	50			$5,000 to $50,000

May 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 20	9:00 PM CDT	F0	Labette	0.3	27

May 24 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 24	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Rush	18.0	10		$5,000 to $50,000
May 24	5:03 PM CDT	F0	Barton	5.0	10
May 24	5:10 PM CDT	F3	Barton	26.0	1,320	6	$50,000 to $500,000
May 24	5:50 PM CDT	F3	Rice	60.0	400		$500,000 to $5 million

May 25 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 25	7:20 PM CDT	F0	Allen	3.0	27	$5,000 to $50,000
May 25	10:45 PM CDT	F1	Harper	10.0	50	$500 to $5,000
May 25	12:00 AM CDT	F0	Allen	4.0	27

June 7 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 7	6:10 PM CDT	F0	Shawnee	0.2	10
June 7	6:15 PM CDT	F0	Osage	1.0	10
June 7	6:48 PM CDT	F1	Osage	4.0	10		$50,000 to $500,000
June 7	7:30 PM CDT	F2	Lyon	10.0	100	17	$5 million to $50 million
June 7	7:40 PM CDT	F0	Osage	6.0	10		$50,000 to $500,000
June 7	9:03 PM CDT	F0	Butler	1.0	50
June 7	9:10 PM CDT	F1	Marion	2.0	77		$50,000 to $500,000
June 7	9:14 PM CDT	F0	Marion	1.0	50
June 7	10:50 PM CDT	F2	Reno	7.0	100		$500,000 to $5 million

June 8 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 8	7:26 PM CDT	F0	Lyon	0.1	10
June 8	8:10 PM CDT	F0	Johnson	0.1	10
June 8	8:15 PM CDT	F0	Greenwood	0.5	50

June 13 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 13	12:04 AM CDT	F0	Marshall	1.0	50
June 13	12:35 AM CDT	F0	Marshall	2.0	50

June 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 14	6:20 PM CDT	F0	Osborne	1.0	10			$5,000 to $50,000

June 15 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 15	5:32 PM CDT	F0	Lane	1.0	100
June 15	8:05 PM CDT	F0	Mitchell	0.1	10
June 15	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Mitchell	0.1	10

June 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 16	6:38 PM CDT	F0	Smith	0.1	10

June 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 18	7:30 PM CDT	F1	Cloud	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

June 19 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 19	10:00 PM MDT	F2	Hamilton	1.5	150		$50,000 to $500,000
June 19	11:05 PM CDT	F2	Stanton	1.5	150		$50,000 to $500,000
June 19	11:20 PM CDT	F2	Grant	20.0	300	2	$500,000 to $5 million
June 19	12:55 AM CDT	F1	Reno	0.5	440		$5,000 to $50,000
June 19	12:55 AM CDT	F0	Sedgwick	0.5	100

July 21 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
July 21	1:53 PM CDT	F0	Butler	0.1	23
July 21	2:10 PM CDT	F0	Butler	2.0	10	$500 to $5,000
July 21	2:25 PM CDT	F0	Butler	0.1	10

August 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 14	7:30 PM CDT	F0	Reno	0.5	50

Crossed into Kansas

Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Kansas. They are counted under the state they began in.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 13	5:54 PM CST	F3	Grant, OK to KS	22.0	200			$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

Every tornado in Kansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Kansas The 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.