Tornadoes · United States · Kansas

Tornadoes in Seward County, Kansas

40 tornadoes have crossed Seward County since 1950, 72nd of the 105 counties in Kansas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 15. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
40
Deaths
0
Injuries
15
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, November 16, 2015

The strongest

  1. EF3, Seward, Meade and Gray counties, KansasNovember 16, 2015EF3, 51.3 mi (82 km)
  2. F3, Grant, Haskell and Seward counties, KansasJune 6, 1951F3, 44.8 mi (72 km)
  3. F3, Stevens and Seward counties, KansasMay 26, 1996F3, 13.0 mi (21 km)
  4. F3, Seward County, KansasJune 6, 1989F3, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  5. F3, Seward County, KansasJune 21, 1974F3, 2.7 mi (4 km)
  6. F2, Seward and Meade counties, KansasApril 9, 1994F2, 25.0 mi (40 km)
  7. F2, Seward and Haskell counties, KansasMay 26, 1996F2, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  8. F2, Seward County, KansasMay 15, 2003F2, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  9. F2, Seward County, KansasMay 15, 2003F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  10. F2, Seward County, KansasMay 15, 2003F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Seward County. Each year links to every tornado in Kansas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20231EF0
20201EF1
20161EF0
20153EF3
20092EF1
20061F0
20053F1
20033F2
20021F0
20011F0
200012F1
19981F0
19971F0
19963F3
19951F1
199418F2
19891F3
19823F2
19811F1
19801F1
19761F1
197412F3
19671F1
19552F0
19541F1
19531F1
195123F3

Every tornado that crossed Seward County

40 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 26, 20234:42 PM CSTEF0Seward3.910
July 1, 20207:33 PM CDTEF1Seward6.2100$200,000
December 25, 20168:55 AM CSTEF0Seward0.725
November 16, 20155:38 PM CSTEF3Seward51.32,000
May 24, 20159:47 PM CDTEF0Seward0.7150
May 24, 20159:37 PM CDTEF1Seward10.91,200$1.0 million
August 2, 20098:50 PM CDTEF1Haskell3.575$70,000
June 10, 20098:28 PM CDTEF0Seward0.350
June 22, 20068:00 PM CDTF0Seward0.320
June 16, 20056:45 PM CDTF1Haskell10.5100
April 5, 20052:35 PM CDTF0Seward0.530
April 5, 20052:33 PM CDTF1Seward7.5100
May 15, 20039:30 PM CDTF2Seward2.5100$8.0 million
May 15, 20037:40 PM CDTF2Seward4.9100$150,000
May 15, 20037:29 PM CDTF2Seward2.5100$6.0 million
July 10, 200210:49 PM CDTF0Seward0.325
May 29, 20017:51 PM CDTF0Seward0.830
March 7, 20004:20 PM CSTF1Seward2.01002$250,000
May 7, 19987:04 PM CDTF0Seward0.450
August 18, 19977:41 PM CDTF0Seward1.5300
May 26, 19964:20 PM CDTF0Haskell4.030$10,000
May 26, 19964:03 PM CDTF2Seward20.0450$300,000
May 26, 19963:39 PM CDTF3Stevens13.0200$190,000
May 22, 19956:57 PM CDTF1Seward2.5100
April 9, 19944:25 PM CDTF2Seward25.01,7008$5,000 to $50,000
June 6, 19894:58 PM CDTF3Seward12.0500$5,000 to $50,000
August 29, 19826:45 PM CDTF1Seward0.110$50,000 to $500,000
May 15, 19828:45 PM CDTF0Seward0.110under $50
March 18, 19827:26 PM CSTF2Seward0.530$5,000 to $50,000
July 17, 19816:45 PM CDTF1Seward0.527$500 to $5,000
August 5, 19805:40 PM CDTF1Seward to KS13.6100$500 to $5,000
April 14, 19767:30 PM CSTF1Seward73.250$50,000 to $500,000
June 21, 19746:35 PM CDTF3Seward2.7302$5,000 to $50,000
July 3, 19676:25 PM GMT-5F1Seward0.110
June 4, 195511:52 PM GMT-5F0Seward0.110
June 4, 195511:43 PM GMT-5F0Seward0.110
October 26, 195412:05 AM GMT-6F1Seward0.1100$500 to $5,000
May 28, 19539:40 PM GMT-5F1Seward0.150$5,000 to $50,000
June 6, 19518:30 PM GMT-5F3Grant44.8103$5,000 to $50,000
April 26, 19517:15 PM GMT-6F0Seward1.010

Nearby

Warnings in force in Seward CountyThe forecast for Seward CountyThe live radar over Seward CountyEvery 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.