Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2016

EF0 tornado, Glendale, Kansas, April 24, 2016

Name: EF0 tornado, Glendale, Kansas, April 24, 2016
Start: 2016-04-24T22:19:00.000Z
End: 2016-04-24T22:22:00.000Z
Location: Glendale, Kansas

This EF0 tornado ran 2.9 miles across Saline County on April 24, 2016, touching down at 5:19 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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 mphthis tornado
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.

The record

Rating: EF0
Date: April 24, 2016
Touchdown: 5:19 PM CDT (22:19 UTC)
Lifted: 5:22 PM CDT (22:22 UTC)
On the ground: 3 minutes
Path length: 2.9 miles (4.7 km)
Path width: 50 yards (46 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Saline County
Touchdown point: 38.840, -97.870
Lift-off point: 38.869, -97.831
Record number: 1604241619-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS ICT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 75 mph.

Brief touchdown in open country.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A compact upper-level shortwave that ejected northeast across Kansas induced strong deep-layer shear, both speed and directional, to enable supercells to erupt across much of Central Kansas that afternoon. Saline County was hit the hardest, more specifically Northern Saline County, where hail reached around the size of baseballs. A 2nd county hit particularly hard was Ellsworth, where the hail reached around the size of lemons a few miles northeast of Ellsworth. There were 2 tornadoes, one in Ellsworth County and one in Saline.

No damage was reported.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

10 minutes of warning. NWS ICT issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:09 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:04 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
20:04 UTC	04:00 UTC	Tornado Watch	ICT
20:49 UTC	00:00 UTC	Wind Advisory	ICT
22:09 UTC	23:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	ICT
22:59 UTC	23:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	ICT
23:41 UTC	00:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT
01:12 UTC	02:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT
01:33 UTC	02:15 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT
01:53 UTC	02:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT
02:40 UTC	03:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT
03:24 UTC	04:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:45 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 24, 2:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 24, 2:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
228 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

.SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 220 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT:
AN UPPER TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO EJECT NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE
CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING. A DRYLINE WILL BECOME
BETTER FOCUSED BY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING FROM CENTRAL KANSAS
TO WESTERN OKLAHOMA. MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL DEVELOP EAST OF THE
DRYLINE...WITH INCREASING MID-LEVEL WESTERLY WINDS PROVIDING
STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR. ASCENT FROM THE UPPER TROUGH AND
INCREASING DRYLINE CONVERGENCE...SHOULD ALLOW ISOLATED TO
SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BY MID TO LATE
AFTERNOON...WHICH COULD EVOLVE EASTWARD INTO THE FLINT HILLS
BEFORE WEAKENING LATER THIS EVENING. EXPECTING THE GREATER STORM
COVERAGE IN CENTRAL-EAST CENTRAL KS INTO THE FLINT HILLS...WITH
ANY STORMS FURTHER SOUTH MORE ISOLATED. LARGE HAIL OF 1 TO 2
INCHES IN DIAMETER AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY TO BE THE MAIN
THREATS...WITH LOW-LEVEL GULF MOISTURE ON THE MARGINAL SIDE.

MONDAY-MONDAY NIGHT:
A TRAILING...PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE
SOUTHWARD...STALLING OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST KANSAS BY MONDAY
AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH MODERATE-STRONG INSTABILITY WILL RESIDE NEAR AND
SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY MONDAY AFTERNOON...AN ELEVATED MIXED LAYER
WILL LIKELY KEEP THIS BOUNDARY DORMANT VIA CONVECTIVE INHIBITION.
THE BOUNDARY MAY LIFT NORTHWARD SLIGHTLY AS A WARM FRONT MONDAY
NIGHT AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING STRONG UPPER TROUGH IN THE SOUTHWEST.
LOW PROBABILITIES OF STORMS (20-25%) WILL EXIST NORTH OF THE WARM
FRONT MONDAY NIGHT...HOWEVER THE ELEVATED MIXED LAYER MAY KEEP
THE AREA CAPPED TO EVEN ELEVATED CONVECTION.

TUESDAY-TUESDAY NIGHT:

THIS PERIOD CONTINUES TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF A POTENTIALLY HIGH IMPACT
SEVERE WEATHER DAY ACROSS CENTRAL/EASTERN KANSAS. A STRONG UPPER
TROUGH WILL EJECT OUT OF THE FOUR CORNERS REGION ACROSS THE CENTRAL
PLAINS...IN A NEGATIVELY-TILTED FASHION...AS A STRONG MID-LEVEL JET
STREAK (~70 KNOTS) ROUNDS THE BASE OF THE TROUGH. THE WARM FRONT IS
PROGGED TO LIFT NORTHWARD OF INTERSTATE 70 BY MIDDAY...ALLOWING A
MOIST...VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS TO DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH OF THE EASTERN
TWO-THIRDS OF KANSAS. THERE IS STILL SOME MODEL FORECAST UNCERTAINTY
ON THE EXACT POSITIONINGS OF SURFACE/UPPER AIR FEATURES TUESDAY
PM/EVE. FORECAST CONTINUITY WOULD KEEP THE DRYLINE...EXTENDING
SOUTHWARD FROM A TRIPLE POINT IN NORTH-CENTRAL KANSAS...PERHAPS
ALONG THE HIGHWAY 14 CORRIDOR (OR SLIGHTLY WEST) INTO WESTERN
OKLAHOMA. MLCAPES OF 3,000-4,000 J/KG ARE LIKELY IN THE WARM SECTOR
WITH DIURNAL HEATING AND MID 60S TO NEAR 70 DEWPOINTS.
CONSIDERABLE MID-LEVEL HEIGHT FALLS AND THE STRONG MID-LEVEL JET
STREAK NOSING NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE REGION...SHOULD ALLOW THE CAP
TO BREAK TOWARD MID-LATE AFTERNOON...WITH INITIAL STORM UPDRAFT
DEVELOPMENT LIKELY TO BE EXPLOSIVE (GIVEN THERMAL PROFILES).
INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY DEEP-LAYER SHEAR VECTORS SPREADING IN
FROM THE SOUTHWEST...WOULD FAVOR ISOLATED-WIDELY SEPARATED DISCRETE
SUPERCELL-TYPE STORMS DEVELOPING IN THE WARM SECTOR MID-LATE
AFTERNOON. A 50 KNOT LOW-LEVEL JET IS PROGGED TO DEVELOP TUESDAY
EVENING...AND STORM COVERAGE MAY INCREASE INTO AN MCS BY MID-LATE
TUESDAY EVENING IN THE WARM SECTOR. ALTHOUGH SOME MODEL
DISPARITIES CONTINUE TO EXIST AND FORECAST DETAILS WILL CONTINUE
TO BE REFINED LEADING UP TO TUESDAY...THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A FEW
TO SEVERAL HIGH-END SEVERE REPORTS (VERY LARGE HAIL, TORNADOES,
DAMAGING WINDS) ESPECIALLY IN APPROXIMATELY THE 20Z-03Z TIME-
FRAME.

WEDNESDAY-WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
THE NEGATIVELY-TILTED STRONG UPPER TROUGH
ACROSS THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS...IS PROGGED TO LIFT
NORTHEASTWARD REACHING THE CORNBELT (IOWA/EASTERN NEBRASKA) BY LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL EFFECTIVELY PUSH THE DRYLINE EASTWARD OUT
OF EASTERN KANSAS BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER MAINLY CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST KS DURING
THE DAY WEDNESDAY...AS THERE MAY BE A FEW RESIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS
UNDERNEATH THE MID-LEVEL COLD POCKET. SLIGHTLY COOLER/DRIER AIR
SHOULD INFILTRATE THE FORECAST AREA BEHIND THE DEPARTING UPPER
TROUGH.

.LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
ISSUED AT 220 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOW AN UPPER TROUGH RELOADING OVER THE
SOUTHWESTERN STATES BEHIND THE MIDWEEK DEPARTING UPPER TROUGH. A
SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF THIS NEXT UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO EJECT OUT
ACROSS THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS TOWARD FRIDAY/SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH
THE EXACT EVOLUTION IS UNCERTAIN AND THERE ARE SOME PRECIPITATON
TIMING CONCERNS...IT APPEARS RICH GULF MOISTURE WILL SURGE NORTHWARD
INTO KANSAS AHEAD OF THIS NEXT TROUGH. THEREFORE...WE EXPECT CHANCES
FOR THUNDERSTORMS (SOME STRONG WITH HEAVY RAINFALL)...TO INCREASE
TOWARD FRIDAY/SATURDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES LOOK NEAR SEASONAL
DURING THIS PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY AFTERNOON)
ISSUED AT 104 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN CURRENTLY IS GUSTY SOUTH WINDS. SURFACE
OBSERVATIONS SUSTAINED 20-26KT RANGE WITH FEW LOCATIONS GUSTING UP
TO 38KT. EXPECT THESE CONDITIONS TO PERSIST THROUGH 23-00UTC.

CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT STILL LOOKS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON.
CONVECTIVE INITIATION 19-20 UTC...GIVEN CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES IN
THE MID70-LOW80 RANGE. MESOSCALE MODELS TRENDING TOWARD DEVELOPING
STORMS EAST OF KRSL AND KGBD...HOWEVER MODELS HAVE SHOWN SOME
INCONSISTENCY IN SHORT TERM...SO LEAVING THREAT IN PLACE FOR NOW.
FOCUS FOR STORMS MOVES EAST AND LIKELY WILL AFFECT KHUT...KICT AND
KSLN 21-01UTC TIMEFRAME...WITH STORMS NOT AFFECTING KCNU UNTIL AFT
01UTC. LIKELY WILL HAVE TO FINE-TUNE ONCE CONVECTION DEVELOPS.

THREAT OF STORMS WILL END FOR ALL TAF SITES BY 06UTC. NEXT
AVIATION CONCERN EVOLVES 07-09 UTC WITH MVFR CIGS...LOWERING TO
IFR BY 11-13 UTC FOR KICT AND KCNU. OUTSIDE POSSIBILITY THAT MVFR
CIGS COULD AFFECT KHUT AS WELL.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
ISSUED AT 220 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

DESPITE GUSTY SOUTH WINDS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS
AND THE FLINT HILLS...THE RECENT GREEN-UP AND HIGHER HUMIDITY VALUES
WILL KEEP THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER BELOW ELEVATED LEVELS.
GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER IS EXPECTED TO BE LOW MONDAY-TUESDAY AS
WELL.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
WICHITA-KICT    59  80  63  83 /  40  10  20  40
HUTCHINSON      55  79  58  81 /  40  10  20  40
NEWTON          57  79  60  81 /  50  10  20  40
ELDORADO        58  79  62  81 /  50  20  20  40
WINFIELD-KWLD   60  79  65  82 /  30  20  20  40
RUSSELL         49  77  53  78 /  20   0  20  40
GREAT BEND      50  78  54  79 /  20  10  20  30
SALINA          55  79  56  80 /  50  10  20  40
MCPHERSON       55  79  57  81 /  40  10  20  40
COFFEYVILLE     61  79  65  81 /  30  20  20  30
CHANUTE         60  78  64  80 /  30  20  20  30
IOLA            59  77  63  80 /  40  20  20  30
PARSONS-KPPF    60  78  65  81 /  30  20  20  30

&&

.ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR KSZ052-053-068>071-
083-092>094.

&&

SHORT TERM...JMC
LONG TERM...JMC
AVIATION...SMF
FIRE WEATHER...JMC

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 24, 3:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
343 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-252045-
RUSSELL-LINCOLN-BARTON-ELLSWORTH-SALINE-RICE-MCPHERSON-MARION-CHASE-
RENO-HARVEY-BUTLER-GREENWOOD-WOODSON-ALLEN-KINGMAN-SEDGWICK-HARPER-
SUMNER-COWLEY-ELK-WILSON-NEOSHO-CHAUTAUQUA-MONTGOMERY-LABETTE-
343 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS...
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT CENTRAL AND
SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS
WILL BE LARGE HAIL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...AND POSSIBLY A
BRIEF TORNADO OR TWO. STORM INTENSITY AND CHANCES WILL DIMINISH
LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.

STRONG SOUTH WINDS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
KANSAS AND THE FLINT HILLS UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING. REFER TO THE
WIND ADVISORY FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA
MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. A FEW STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE WITH
HAIL UP TO NICKEL SIZE.

A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK REMAINS POSSIBLE ON
TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. SUPERCELL
STORMS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR VERY LARGE DESTRUCTIVE HAIL AND
STRONG LONG TRACK TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY FROM
LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH ABOUT MIDNIGHT. DETAILS WILL BE REFINED
IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER AND SOME HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE
BY EARLY NEXT WEEKEND. PLEASE CHECK LATER FORECASTS AND OUTLOOKS
AS DETAILS BECOME AVAILABLE.

NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO REVIEW YOUR FAMILY AND WORKPLACE STORM
SAFETY PLANS IN PREPARATION FOR THE POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER
THIS WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTERS WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS
PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

&&

FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:23 PM CDT, 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
423 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0420 PM     HAIL             6 NW ELLSWORTH          38.80N 98.31W
04/24/2016  E1.00 INCH       ELLSWORTH          KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

RBL

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:28 PM CDT, 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
428 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0425 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     10 NNW HOLYROOD         38.72N 98.48W
04/24/2016                   ELLSWORTH          KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

RBL

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:42 PM CDT, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
442 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0440 PM     HAIL             1 N ELLSWORTH           38.75N 98.23W
04/24/2016  E1.00 INCH       ELLSWORTH          KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

RBL

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:55 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
455 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0453 PM     HAIL             2 NNE ELLSWORTH         38.76N 98.21W
04/24/2016  E2.00 INCH       ELLSWORTH          KS   BROADCAST MEDIA

&&

SMF

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:01 PM CDT, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
501 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0500 PM     HAIL             5 NE ELLSWORTH          38.79N 98.16W
04/24/2016  E1.75 INCH       ELLSWORTH          KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

SMF

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:10 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
510 PM CDT SUN APR 24 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0509 PM     HAIL             WESTFALL                38.93N 98.00W
04/24/2016  E0.88 INCH       LINCOLN            KS   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

SMF

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 (KFOE), 12:00Z

10.3 hours before the tornado, 192 km from the path. April 24, 2016.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -81894 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1469 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 131 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Topeka, KS (KFOE), 00:00Z

1.7 hours after it, 192 km from the path. April 25, 2016.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 156 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1129 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1654 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 138 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:18 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
21:00 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	Holyrood	Ellsworth, KS
21:05 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	3 W Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
21:12 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nw Holyrood	Ellsworth, KS
21:17 UTC	HAIL 1	8 Wsw Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
21:17 UTC	HAIL 1.5	7 S Sylvan Grove	Lincoln, KS
21:20 UTC	HAIL 1	6 Nw Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
21:25 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	10 Nnw Holyrood	Ellsworth, KS
21:40 UTC	HAIL 1	1 N Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
21:53 UTC	HAIL 2	2 Nne Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
22:00 UTC	HAIL 1.75	5 Ne Ellsworth	Ellsworth, KS
22:09 UTC	HAIL 0.88	Westfall	Lincoln, KS
22:17 UTC	HAIL 2.5	2 W Glendale	Saline, KS
22:19 UTC	TORNADO	4 S Glendale	Saline, KS
22:19 UTC	TORNADO	S Glendale	Saline, KS
22:21 UTC	HAIL 1.25	1 Ne Glendale	Saline, KS
22:51 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Wsw Culver	Ottawa, KS
23:07 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	9 Nnw Salina	Saline, KS	CAR PORT RIPPED FROM IT FOUNDATION. TRAMPOLINE LIFTED INTO THE TREE TOPS. DELAYED STORM REPORT.
23:11 UTC	HAIL 1.75	5 N Salina Airport	Saline, KS	MEDIA REPORTS QUARTER SIZED HAIL MM94 I135
23:19 UTC	HAIL 2.75	6 Nne Salina Airport	Saline, KS	QUARTER SIZED HAIL RPTD 12TH AND 9TH IN SALINA BY SHERIFF
23:28 UTC	HAIL 1	1 Nne Bennington	Ottawa, KS
23:29 UTC	HAIL 3	2 Nnw New Cambria	Saline, KS
23:30 UTC	HAIL 2.75	New Cambria	Saline, KS
23:31 UTC	HAIL 2.75	1 Se Niles	Ottawa, KS
23:37 UTC	HAIL 2.75	3 Ne New Cambria	Saline, KS
23:40 UTC	HAIL 2	Solomon	Dickinson, KS
23:42 UTC	HAIL 1.75	6 E New Cambria	Saline, KS	ROTATING WALL CLOUD REPORTED BY CHASER SAME LOCATION
00:06 UTC	HAIL 1.75	4 N Abilene	Dickinson, KS
00:25 UTC	HAIL 2.75	Nne Minneapolis	Ottawa, KS
00:26 UTC	HAIL 2.5	Minneapolis	Ottawa, KS
00:30 UTC	HAIL 1	6 N Wells	Ottawa, KS

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2016 tornado in Kansas Every tornado in Kansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Kansas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 24, 2016

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 24	4:12 PM CDT	EF0	Ellsworth, KS	3.5	50
April 24	6:03 PM CDT	EF1	Nuckolls, NE	2.4	300		$4,000
April 24	6:29 PM CDT	EF0	Galveston, TX	1.4	30		$100,000
April 24	6:50 PM CDT	EF1	Republic, KS	12.3	150	2

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.