Tornadoes · United States · Kansas

Tornadoes in Jewell County, Kansas

44 tornadoes have crossed Jewell County since 1950, 60th of the 105 counties in Kansas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 12. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
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.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
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.

Now

Tornadoes: 44
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 12
F4 and above: 0
Worst on record: EF3, May 27, 2013

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Jewell County. Each year links to every tornado in Kansas that year.

Year	Tornadoes	Injuries	Strongest
2015	6	1	EF2
2013	1	2	EF3
2012	2		EF0
2010	2		EF1
2008	3		EF3
2001	4		F1
1992	4		F2
1990	3		F1
1989	1		F0
1986	1	7	F3
1982	1		F0
1980	1		F0
1978	1		F0
1976	1	1	F2
1975	2		F1
1974	2		F1
1971	2		F2
1965	1		F1
1962	1		F0
1959	1		F1
1957	1		F1
1954	1		F0
1950	2	1	F2

Every tornado that crossed Jewell County

44 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Kansas.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 6, 2015	5:04 PM CDT	EF1	Jewell	3.1	60		$5,000
May 6, 2015	4:54 PM CDT	EF1	Jewell	4.3	250		$250,000
May 6, 2015	4:48 PM CDT	EF0	Grady to KS, NE	0.3	50
May 6, 2015	4:48 PM CDT	EF2	Nuckolls to NE	20.1	400		$4.3 million
May 6, 2015	3:55 PM CDT	EF2	Jewell	12.6	350	1	$1.5 million
May 6, 2015	3:31 PM CDT	EF0	Jewell	1.0	25
May 27, 2013	7:04 PM CDT	EF3	Smith	5.7	1,580	2	$1.8 million
March 19, 2012	6:55 AM CDT	EF0	Jewell	0.8	40		$50,000
February 28, 2012	5:28 PM CST	EF0	Jewell	2.4	50		$35,000
June 20, 2010	7:20 PM CDT	EF0	Jewell	0.1	20
June 19, 2010	6:30 PM CDT	EF1	Jewell	2.1	350
May 29, 2008	9:30 PM CDT	EF3	Jewell to NE	55.2	1,320		$2.8 million
May 29, 2008	8:58 PM CDT	EF0	Mitchell	9.8	200		$7,000
May 29, 2008	8:40 PM CDT	EF3	Mitchell	18.9	2,000		$5.5 million
May 8, 2001	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Mitchell	2.0	80
May 8, 2001	6:50 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.5	40
April 11, 2001	1:14 AM CDT	F1	Jewell	17.5	75		$130,000
April 10, 2001	12:25 AM CDT	F1	Osborne	13.0	200		$160,000
June 15, 1992	7:35 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	1.5	100		$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 1992	7:09 PM CDT	F2	Jewell	1.5	73		$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 1992	7:06 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	2.0	73		$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 1992	6:59 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	1.0	50		$5,000 to $50,000
March 13, 1990	6:45 PM CST	F1	Jewell	13.0	550		$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 1990	6:20 PM CST	F1	Jewell	5.0	440		$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 1990	5:00 PM CST	F1	Jewell	1.5	100		$5,000 to $50,000
September 8, 1989	4:50 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.2	10
September 18, 1986	8:15 PM CDT	F3	Jewell to NE	7.0	500	7	$500,000 to $5 million
June 14, 1982	9:14 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.1	10		under $50
July 9, 1980	3:15 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.3	10		$5,000 to $50,000
June 19, 1978	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
April 14, 1976	4:05 PM CST	F2	Jewell to NE	38.8	330	1	$50,000 to $500,000
May 22, 1975	2:30 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	4.9	33		$5,000 to $50,000
April 27, 1975	7:05 PM CDT	F0	Jewell	0.3	10		$500 to $5,000
May 17, 1974	7:00 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	16.8	440		$50,000 to $500,000
May 10, 1974	7:20 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	9.4	20		$500 to $5,000
June 4, 1971	11:35 PM CDT	F1	Jewell	1.5	50		$500 to $5,000
May 30, 1971	7:15 PM CDT	F2	Jewell	1.5	200		$5,000 to $50,000
May 24, 1965	6:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Jewell	13.5	100
May 25, 1962	8:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Jewell	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000
May 4, 1959	3:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Jewell to NE	45.6	10		$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 1957	3:05 PM GMT-5	F1	Jewell	5.7	300		$5,000 to $50,000
August 22, 1954	5:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Jewell	2.0	800
May 18, 1950	8:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Jewell	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000
May 8, 1950	8:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Jewell	6.8	10	1	$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Jewell County The forecast for Jewell County The live radar over Jewell County Every county in 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.