... On this date in weather history...
In 1990... four tornadoes roared across parts of central
Kansas... of which 2 reached F3 intensity. One massive F3
tornado... possessing a track 26 miles long and three
quarters of a mile wide... tore through Barton... Rice and
Ellsworth counties. Described as a huge black wall... the
tempest injured 6 and derailed 88 cars of a 125-car
freight train... some of which were stacked 3 to 4 cars
high. It caused around $500,000 damage. The second F3
tornado... believed to have touched down multiple
times... produced a path 60 miles long and around one
quarter mile wide across Rice... McPherson and Marion
counties. This tornado also hit a freight
train... derailing 87 of 103 cars. This second tornado
caused nearly $3 million damage in McPherson and Marion
counties alone. In 1962... severe thunderstorms wreaked
havoc over much of central and eastern Kansas.Reno and
Harvey counties were hit by 5 tornadoes of which 3
reached F3 intensity. Three of the tornadoes injured 6
and caused $500,000 damage. One F3 tornado destroyed a
bowling alley between Nickerson and Hutchinson while a
second moved erratically between Burrton and Halstead.
The severe thunderstorms also bombarded these areas with
2 to 4 inch diameter hail.
