Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 1991
F0 tornado, Harper and Sumner counties, Kansas, April 26, 1991
This F0 tornado ran 16.0 miles across Harper and Sumner counties on April 26, 1991, touching down at 5:30 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $500 to $5,000 of property damage.
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 mphthis tornado
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.
The record
- Rating
- F0
- Date
- April 26, 1991
- Touchdown
- 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC)
- Path length
- 16.0 miles (25.7 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $500 to $5,000
- Counties
- Harper and Sumner counties
- Touchdown point
- 37.180, -97.830
- Lift-off point
- 37.380, -97.670
- Record number
- 313
The warnings
4 minutes of warning. NWS ICT issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:26 UTC, 4 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:45 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:53 UTC | 20:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT |
| 21:36 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT |
| 22:26 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | ICT |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 06:35 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 1991 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 26, 1991
52 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | 6:45 AM CDT | F2 | Kay, OK | 1.0 | 100 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:30 AM CDT | F1 | Jefferson Parish, LA | 0.2 | 10 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:45 AM CDT | F2 | Montgomery, KS | 6.0 | 100 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 3:25 PM CDT | F2 | Washington, KS | 3.5 | 100 | 6 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| April 26 | 3:40 PM CDT | F1 | Fillmore, NE | 1.0 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 3:45 PM CDT | F0 | Chase, KS | 1.0 | 17 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 3:50 PM CDT | F3 | Washington, KS to NE | 24.0 | 200 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 4:10 PM CDT | F0 | Morris, KS | 13.0 | 50 | $500,000 to $5 million | ||
| April 26 | 4:35 PM CDT | F2 | Wabaunsee, KS | 44.0 | 200 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:00 PM CDT | F2 | Gage, NE | 4.0 | 150 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:15 PM CDT | F3 | Otoe, NE | 14.0 | 350 | 2 | $500,000 to $5 million | |
| April 26 | 5:20 PM CDT | F0 | Harper, KS | 1.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:47 PM CDT | F1 | Sedgwick, KS | 2.0 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 5:57 PM CDT | F5 | Andover tornado, KS | 46.0 | 440 | 17 | 225 | $50 million to $500 million |
| April 26 | 6:00 PM CDT | F3 | Garfield, OK | 6.0 | 350 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:10 PM CDT | F1 | Sedgwick, KS | 16.0 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 6:15 PM CDT | F0 | Pierce, NE | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| April 26 | 6:15 PM CDT | F0 | Garfield, OK | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| April 26 | 6:30 PM CDT | F4 | Garfield, OK | 66.0 | 1,500 | 6 | $500,000 to $5 million | |
| April 26 | 6:30 PM CDT | F4 | Cowley, KS | 25.0 | 500 | 1 | $5 million to $50 million | |
| April 26 | 6:35 PM CDT | F0 | Wabaunsee, KS | 9.0 | 20 | |||
| April 26 | 7:00 PM CDT | F2 | Cherokee, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:10 PM CDT | F2 | Butler, KS | 21.0 | 100 | 4 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| April 26 | 7:11 PM CDT | F3 | Cherokee, TX | 3.0 | 200 | 1 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| April 26 | 7:26 PM CDT | F3 | Elk, KS | 14.0 | 200 | 1 | 2 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| April 26 | 7:38 PM CDT | F2 | Payne, OK | 6.5 | 800 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:40 PM CDT | F0 | Chase, KS | 1.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:40 PM CDT | F2 | Rusk, TX | 3.0 | 100 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 7:44 PM CDT | F1 | Shelby, IA | 2.0 | 47 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:00 PM CDT | F3 | Crawford, IA | 7.7 | 150 | $500,000 to $5 million | ||
| April 26 | 8:00 PM CDT | F2 | Rusk, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:10 PM CDT | F4 | Pawnee, OK | 32.0 | 1,700 | 1 | 24 | $500,000 to $5 million |
| April 26 | 8:22 PM CDT | F1 | Rusk, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:27 PM CDT | F1 | Osage, OK | 0.3 | 10 | |||
| April 26 | 8:33 PM CDT | F0 | Sedgwick, KS | 1.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 8:35 PM CDT | F3 | Greenwood, KS | 15.0 | 50 | $500,000 to $5 million | ||
| April 26 | 8:54 PM CDT | F1 | Shawnee, KS | 11.0 | 20 | 4 | $5,000 to $50,000 | |
| April 26 | 9:00 PM CDT | F2 | Dickinson, IA | 18.0 | 60 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 9:05 PM CDT | F2 | Washington, OK | 6.0 | 100 | 1 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| April 26 | 9:25 PM CDT | F2 | Jefferson, KS | 25.0 | 27 | 2 | $500,000 to $5 million | |
| April 26 | 9:45 PM CDT | F4 | Rogers, OK | 4.0 | 1,300 | 22 | $5 million to $50 million | |
| April 26 | 10:00 PM CDT | F2 | Red River, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:10 PM CDT | F1 | Rogers, OK | 2.0 | 30 | 3 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| April 26 | 10:15 PM CDT | F1 | Andrew, MO | 1.8 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:19 PM CDT | F1 | Red River, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:20 PM CDT | F0 | Montgomery, KS | 1.0 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 26 | 10:30 PM CDT | F2 | Red River, TX | 0.2 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:10 PM CDT | F2 | Wayne, IA | 9.0 | 60 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| April 26 | 11:10 PM CDT | F2 | Wayne, IA | 15.0 | 77 | 2 | $500,000 to $5 million | |
| April 26 | 11:39 PM CDT | F0 | Newton, MO | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| April 26 | 11:57 PM CDT | F1 | Andrew, MO | 1.5 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 26 | 12:05 AM CDT | F0 | Jasper, MO | 0.1 | 10 |
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.