As Kansans (and essentially the entire Midwest) are aware, tornadoes have been a hot topic the last week:
Since L. Frank Baum penned the story of Kansas’s most infamous (yet fictional) tornado in The Wizard of Oz, the Sunflower State has been known for its large, sometimes deadly storms. Is this reputation justified? Thanks to Tornado History Project, we can take a better look at Kansas tornadoes over the past 65 years and see just how we stack up to other states.
According to the THP, Kansas saw a total of 4,052 tornadoes between April 1950 - November 2015, which in total killed 298 people and injured 3,349.
Tornado History Project
The tornado with the highest number of fatalities (80) took place on May 25, 1955 in Sumner County.
Wikimedia Commons
On September 25, 1973, a large tornado swept a whopping 169.7 miles, hitting Rice, McPherson, Saline, Ottawa, Dickinson, Clay, Washington, and Marshall Counties.
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The tornado with the highest amount of reported injuries (450) took place on June 8, 1966 in Shawnee County.
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One of the more recent Kansas tornadoes was also one that broke records; the EF5 tornado that struck the town of Greensburg in 2007 at one point spanned a terrifying 3,872 yards.
Wikimedia Commons
What do these numbers mean? Does Kansas have the most tornadoes of all 50 states? According to the Tornado Project, the answer is no. When it comes to the total number of tornadoes, Kansas comes in at #4 (behind Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida) and again at #5 for annual tornadoes per 10,000 square miles. In terms of deaths per 10,000 square miles and number of killer tornadoes, the Sunflower State doesn’t even make the top 10.
Tornado History Project
Wikimedia Commons
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What do you make of these statistics? And how many of these storms do you remember?
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