89
Recorded events
77
Direct deaths
290
Direct injuries
$40.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Cowley County, Kansas: 89 recorded events between 1953 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #84 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Cowley County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Cowley County is the 2010s, when 25 of the county's 89 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cowley County archive, tornado makes up 6.3% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #84 for this hazard and #7 within Kansas, putting it in the 97.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Cowley County with 30 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-05-25 | EF5 | 56.4 mi | 1,320 yd | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-02 | EF4 | 108.3 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF4 | 25.0 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1965-03-16 | EF4 | 82.7 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1991-03-26 | EF3 | 67.0 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1991-03-26 | EF3 | 15.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-15 | EF3 | 13.3 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-27 | EF2 | 1.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-14 | EF2 | 0.8 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-17 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 1955 | F5 | 75 | 270 | $250K | |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F4 | 1 | 0 | $25.0M | |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 16, 1980 | F3 | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 17, 1965 | F4 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2024 | DEXTER | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2024 | MAPLE CITY | EF2 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2022 | DEXTER | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2022 | MAPLE CITY | EFU | $0 |
| May 31, 2022 | DEXTER | EFU | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2018 | ARKANSAS CITY | EF0 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | BURDEN | EF0 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | WINFIELD | EF1 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | WINFIELD | EF0 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | MAPLE CITY | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cowley County
- Hail 718
- Thunderstorm Wind 504
- Flash Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado moved southeast and caused damage to three homesteads. One of the homes along 151st Road had the most extensive damage, including a 5th wheel camper thrown 75 feet and destroyed, a 500 gallon propane tank overturned. The tornado also caused damage to the home and garage, and damage to two outbuildings and several vehicles.
The tornado touched down initially in a soybean field just to the southeast of a farmstead. The tornado than skimmed along at tree top level over the farmstead, before touching down again on the north side of the farmstead, destroying an open ended horse barn and grain bin. The horse barn and grain bin were thrown to the northeast into the road, as the tornado lifted along 191st road.
Multi-vortex damage occurred at the same farm. Each vortex was about 30 yards wide with three of five outbuildings hit on the property including two of them directly. The buildings that were directly hit included one well constructed metal building that was anchored by bolts into concrete with a steel frame. This second building was concrete brick with anchored metal structure and wood roof that was built closer to a house or sturdy garage than an outbuilding, pole barn, or farm building.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Cowley County, Kansas?
89 tornado events are recorded in Cowley County between 1953 and 2024, causing 77 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Cowley County?
The strongest tornado on record in Cowley County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Cowley County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Cowley County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/cowley-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.