Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 1992

F3 tornado, Mitchell County, Kansas, June 15, 1992

This F3 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Mitchell County on June 15, 1992, touching down at 7:45 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $50,000 to $500,000 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.

  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 mphthis tornado

    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.

The record

Rating
F3
Date
June 15, 1992
Touchdown
7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
Path length
2.0 miles (3.2 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000 to $500,000
County
Mitchell County
Touchdown point
39.420, -98.200
Record number
415

The warnings

47 minutes of warning. NWS TOP issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:58 UTC, 47 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:56 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningTOP
23:58 UTC01:00 UTCTornado WarningTOP
01:03 UTC01:45 UTCTornado WarningTOP
01:44 UTC02:45 UTCTornado WarningTOP

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 Moderate 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.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 00:00Z

0.8 hours before the tornado, 225 km from the path. June 16, 1992.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1992-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3938 joules per kilogram, CIN -8, lifted condensation level 954 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1992-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 88 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
3938 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4253 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
954 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.6
Supercell composite
11.9
0-3 km lapse rate
6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Topeka, KS (KTOP), 12:00Z

11.2 hours after it, 225 km from the path. June 16, 1992.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1992-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2744 joules per kilogram, CIN -87, lifted condensation level 612 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1992-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 301 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 41 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2744 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-87 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2017 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
612 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
301 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
306 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.3
Supercell composite
24.9
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Concordia (CNK), 49 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
23:00 UTC8171130° 16 kt1002.7TSRA
00:00 UTC7972130° 16 kt251002TSRA
01:00 UTC7672130° 14 kt1003.7-TSRA
02:00 UTC7572130° 16 kt1003.4TSRA
02:08 UTC90° 14 kt1004.1

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1992 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 15, 1992

55 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 154:15 PM CDTF0Rooks, KS1.0100
June 154:26 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS1.0100$500 to $5,000
June 154:28 PM CDTF0Rooks, KS1.0100
June 154:37 PM CDTF1Rooks, KS7.01002$500,000 to $5 million
June 154:46 PM CDTF0Osborne, KS0.5100$500 to $5,000
June 154:15 PM MDTF2Haakon, SD2.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 155:51 PM CDTF0Osborne, KS0.550$500 to $5,000
June 155:51 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS2.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 156:15 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS0.850$5,000 to $50,000
June 156:34 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS1.050$500 to $5,000
June 156:40 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS1.073$5,000 to $50,000
June 156:45 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS0.550$50,000 to $500,000
June 156:55 PM CDTF1Osborne, KS1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 156:56 PM CDTF2Mitchell, KS3.5100$50,000 to $500,000
June 156:59 PM CDTF1Jewell, KS1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 157:02 PM CDTF2Mitchell, KS3.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:05 PM CDTF0Clark, SD0.213under $50
June 157:06 PM CDTF1Jewell, KS2.073$5,000 to $50,000
June 157:07 PM CDTF1Mitchell, KS1.573$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:09 PM CDTF2Jewell, KS1.573$5,000 to $50,000
June 157:10 PM CDTF2Mitchell, KS4.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:20 PM CDTF1Hall, NE0.130$5,000 to $50,000
June 157:30 PM CDTF4Mitchell, KS3.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:35 PM CDTF1Jewell, KS1.5100$5,000 to $50,000
June 157:35 PM CDTF2Mitchell, KS2.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:38 PM CDTF2Mitchell, KS2.073
June 157:40 PM CDTF1Mitchell, KS2.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:45 PM CDTF2Polk, NE2.0150$50,000 to $500,000
June 157:55 PM CDTF2Hamilton, NE0.130$500,000 to $5 million
June 157:55 PM CDTF1Mitchell, KS1.550$50,000 to $500,000
June 158:00 PM CDTF0Republic, KS0.523$500 to $5,000
June 158:05 PM CDTF1Mitchell, KS1.350$50,000 to $500,000
June 158:15 PM CDTF0Colfax, NE0.130
June 158:15 PM CDTF0Colfax, NE0.130
June 158:35 PM CDTF1Mitchell, KS2.073$50,000 to $500,000
June 158:52 PM CDTF1Cloud, KS2.017$50,000 to $500,000
June 158:55 PM CDTF3Saline, NE21.0500$500,000 to $5 million
June 158:58 PM CDTF1Cloud, KS2.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 159:35 PM CDTF1Ottawa, KS1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 159:50 PM CDTF0Day, SD0.540
June 159:50 PM CDTF1Cuming, NE0.530$500 to $5,000
June 159:52 PM CDTF3Ottawa, KS3.0800$50,000 to $500,000
June 159:55 PM CDTF1Cuming, NE0.5304$50,000 to $500,000
June 1510:00 PM CDTF1Cuming, NE4.080$50,000 to $500,000
June 1510:15 PM CDTF3Seward, NE14.05001$5 million to $50 million
June 1510:20 PM CDTF1Cuming, NE0.540$5,000 to $50,000
June 1510:35 PM CDTF4McPherson, KS6.07310$5 million to $50 million
June 1510:37 PM CDTF1Cloud, KS1.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 1510:40 PM CDTF2McPherson, KS7.073$5,000 to $50,000
June 1511:58 PM CDTF1Johnson, NE1.5150$50,000 to $500,000
June 1512:09 AM CDTF1McPherson, KS17.0100$5,000 to $50,000
June 1512:12 AM CDTF1Johnson, NE1.2100$5,000 to $50,000
June 1512:20 AM CDTF1Dickinson, KS2.073$5,000 to $50,000
June 1512:30 AM CDTF1Otoe, NE1.520$50 to $500
June 1512:38 AM CDTF0Dickinson, KS0.110$500 to $5,000

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.