Tornadoes · United States · Kansas

2015 tornadoes in Kansas

126 tornadoes touched down in Kansas in 2015, 109 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

2014 2016 The whole country in 2015

The rating scale

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

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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 2015

April 2 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 2	7:24 PM CDT	EF0	Labette	0.0	50
April 2	7:40 PM CDT	EF0	Labette	0.9	75
April 2	7:58 PM CDT	EF0	Cherokee	2.5	100
April 2	8:10 PM CDT	EF0	Labette	0.0	50	$5,000

April 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 3	2:17 AM CDT	EF0	Labette	0.0	50

April 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 7	9:05 PM CDT	EF0	Wilson	0.1	50
April 7	10:59 PM CDT	EF0	Montgomery	0.0	50

April 8 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
April 8	6:24 PM CDT	EF0	Comanche	1.9	75
April 8	6:49 PM CDT	EF0	Barber	16.2	250
April 8	8:15 PM CDT	EF0	Barber	0.6	50
April 8	8:32 PM CDT	EF0	Sedgwick	3.1	75
April 8	8:43 PM CDT	EF0	Kingman	0.7	75

April 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 11	8:06 PM CDT	EF0	Stevens	0.5	50

April 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 12	6:46 PM CDT	EF0	Smith	1.1	20			$20,000
April 12	8:18 PM CDT	EF0	Barber	0.5	75

April 16 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 16	5:18 PM MDT	EF0	Hamilton	0.4	30
April 16	6:00 PM MDT	EF0	Hamilton	1.6	50

April 17 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 17	6:13 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	0.4	30
April 17	5:55 PM MDT	EF0	Sherman	1.5	50

April 24 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 24	4:56 PM CDT	EF0	Ellis	0.5	50
April 24	5:00 PM CDT	EF0	Ellis	0.8	50
April 24	5:02 PM CDT	EF0	Ellis	3.0	100
April 24	5:09 PM CDT	EF0	Wichita	5.3	75
April 24	5:14 PM CDT	EF0	Russell	0.2	40
April 24	5:28 PM CDT	EF0	Scott	0.5	75
April 24	5:29 PM CDT	EF0	Scott	0.8	75
April 24	5:34 PM CDT	EF0	Scott	0.9	75
April 24	6:38 PM CDT	EF1	Lincoln	0.2	40	$150,000

May 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 4	6:58 PM CDT	EF1	Finney	4.5	200
May 4	7:01 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	1.2	50
May 4	7:04 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	1.0	50

May 6 22 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 6	2:24 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln	10.7	100		$25,000
May 6	3:31 PM CDT	EF0	Jewell	1.0	25
May 6	3:55 PM CDT	EF2	Jewell	12.6	350	1	$1.5 million
May 6	4:48 PM CDT	EF2	Nuckolls to NE	20.1	400		$4.3 million
May 6	4:49 PM CDT	EF3	Sedgwick	16.5	300	1	$630,000
May 6	4:54 PM CDT	EF1	Jewell	4.3	250		$250,000
May 6	5:04 PM CDT	EF1	Jewell	3.1	60		$5,000
May 6	5:08 PM CDT	EF1	Republic	2.1	75
May 6	5:10 PM CDT	EF0	Republic	3.1	50
May 6	5:20 PM CDT	EF2	Republic to NE	36.2	800		$1.0 million
May 6	5:38 PM CDT	EF0	Sedgwick	0.3	50
May 6	7:14 PM CDT	EF3	Republic	1.9	100
May 6	7:28 PM CDT	EF0	Republic	0.0	50
May 6	7:35 PM CDT	EF0	Harper	0.3	50
May 6	7:38 PM CDT	EF1	Republic	2.4	75
May 6	8:33 PM CDT	EF0	Cloud	0.3	75
May 6	8:38 PM CDT	EF0	Ottawa	0.0	50
May 6	8:55 PM CDT	EF0	Ottawa	0.3	50
May 6	9:10 PM CDT	EF0	Washington	6.0	50
May 6	9:27 PM CDT	EF0	Cloud	8.8	75
May 6	9:56 PM CDT	EF1	Washington	4.0	75
May 6	10:36 PM CDT	EF0	Washington	0.3	75

May 7 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 7	3:45 PM CDT	EF0	Haskell	0.5	50
May 7	4:00 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	0.3	50
May 7	4:00 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	0.2	50
May 7	4:01 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	0.2	50
May 7	4:02 PM CDT	EF1	Gray	0.2	50	$40,000

May 9 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 9	7:28 PM CDT	EF0	Trego	4.0	100
May 9	7:55 PM CDT	EF0	Graham	2.8	50
May 9	8:00 PM CDT	EF0	Gove	5.7	100
May 9	8:38 PM CDT	EF1	Gove	6.1	50	$50,000
May 9	9:12 PM CDT	EF0	Sheridan	13.9	150
May 9	9:50 PM CDT	EF2	Sheridan	18.8	150	$75,000
May 9	10:43 PM CDT	EF1	Decatur	11.7	50	$6,000

May 15 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 15	6:22 PM CDT	EF0	Jackson	0.1	20
May 15	7:41 PM CDT	EF0	Brown	0.1	20

May 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 16	5:37 PM CDT	EF1	Lyon	0.2	50

May 24 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 24	9:37 PM CDT	EF1	Seward	10.9	1,200	$1.0 million
May 24	9:47 PM CDT	EF0	Seward	0.7	150
May 24	10:06 PM CDT	EF0	Meade	2.4	100
May 24	10:20 PM CDT	EF0	Meade	3.1	100
May 24	10:47 PM CDT	EF1	Meade	13.2	800
May 24	11:26 PM CDT	EF2	Meade	14.6	250
May 24	12:20 AM CDT	EF1	Ford	6.4	75

May 27 11 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 27	3:00 PM CDT	EF0	Logan	2.2	25
May 27	3:03 PM CDT	EF0	Lane	0.3	50
May 27	4:02 PM CDT	EF0	Lane	1.5	100
May 27	4:21 PM CDT	EF0	Lane	0.8	75
May 27	4:24 PM CDT	EF0	Lane	1.4	100
May 27	5:10 PM CDT	EF0	Haskell	0.5	75
May 27	5:14 PM CDT	EF1	Haskell	2.4	150	$1.0 million
May 27	5:45 PM CDT	EF0	Lane	5.0	125
May 27	5:54 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	3.4	200
May 27	6:14 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	2.0	100
May 27	7:33 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	1.0	75

May 28 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 28	2:14 PM MDT	EF0	Greeley	0.5	20
May 28	3:53 PM CDT	EF0	Wichita	1.9	50
May 28	4:07 PM CDT	EF0	Wichita	0.3	25
May 28	4:50 PM CDT	EF0	Scott	1.9	75
May 28	5:09 PM CDT	EF0	Finney	1.7	75

June 3 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 3	10:15 PM CDT	EF1	Osborne	1.0	125	$200,000
June 3	10:17 PM CDT	EF1	Osborne	1.2	100	$250,000
June 3	10:28 PM CDT	EF0	Mitchell	0.3	25	$25,000

June 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 4	9:53 PM CDT	EF0	Sheridan	0.6	25

June 5 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 5	9:24 PM CDT	EF0	Logan	8.6	100
June 5	9:30 PM CDT	EF0	Logan	0.1	10

June 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 12	3:25 PM CDT	EF0	Labette	1.0	50

June 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 14	7:42 PM CDT	EF0	Morris	0.0	20

June 22 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 22	7:08 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	0.6	50

June 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 25	5:56 PM CDT	EF0	Hodgeman	1.0	50

June 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 29	6:00 PM CDT	EF0	Gray	0.2	50

July 6 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 6	5:12 PM CDT	EF1	Douglas	8.3	250
July 6	5:30 PM CDT	EF0	Johnson	0.2	30

July 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 13	6:34 PM CDT	EF3	Rice	5.3	350			$270,000

August 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 8	5:15 PM CDT	EF0	Hodgeman	0.2	50

August 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 28	6:40 PM CDT	EF0	Harvey	0.1	40

September 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 10	8:16 PM CDT	EF1	Wabaunsee	3.4	50

September 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 18	7:09 PM CDT	EF1	Miami	9.3	100		1

November 16 17 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
November 16	3:54 PM CST	EF0	Grant	0.1	25
November 16	5:14 PM CST	EF0	Finney	4.6	50
November 16	5:20 PM CST	EF0	Gove	2.7	25
November 16	5:30 PM CST	EF0	Gove	1.8	25
November 16	5:34 PM CST	EF1	Gove	18.5	300
November 16	5:38 PM CST	EF3	Seward	51.3	2,000
November 16	5:56 PM CST	EF2	Lane	16.5	1,500
November 16	6:19 PM CST	EF1	Meade	6.3	100
November 16	6:27 PM CST	EF1	Ness	3.9	200
November 16	6:36 PM CST	EF1	Norton	6.0	100
November 16	6:55 PM CST	EF2	Gray	14.9	500
November 16	7:06 PM CST	EF0	Trego	1.7	100
November 16	7:10 PM CST	EF1	Norton	3.9	400	$83,000
November 16	7:24 PM CST	EF1	Norton to NE	18.4	400	$50,000
November 16	8:13 PM CST	EF1	Comanche	16.1	810
November 16	8:19 PM CST	EF1	Trego	0.8	100
November 16	8:38 PM CST	EF1	Comanche	5.3	460

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
May 6	4:48 PM CDT	EF0	Grady, OK to KS, NE	0.3	50

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.