53
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$4.8M
Property damage
Tornado in Gray County, Kansas: 53 recorded events between 1955 and 2021. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #337 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Gray County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Gray County is the 2010s, when 21 of the county's 53 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 Gray County archive, tornado makes up 6.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #337 for this hazard and #25 within Kansas, putting it in the 88.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Gray County with 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-16 | EF3 | 51.3 mi | 2,000 yd | Crossed in |
| 1996-05-26 | EF3 | 28.0 mi | 900 yd | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-15 | EF3 | 6.0 mi | 900 yd | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-13 | EF2 | 12.2 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF2 | 14.9 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-24 | EF2 | 14.6 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-15 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-18 | EF2 | 48.0 mi | 67 yd | Crossed in |
| 1978-05-30 | EF2 | 31.9 mi | 17 yd | Crossed in |
| 1955-07-13 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1995 | 5 W Charleston | F3 | 0 | 3 | $400K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2021 | HAGGARD | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2021 | HAGGARD | EF2 | $10K |
| May 27, 2019 | CIMARRON ARPT | EF1 | $60K |
| May 7, 2019 | MONTEZUMA | EFU | $0 |
| May 29, 2018 | ENSIGN | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 29, 2016 | CIMARRON ARPT | EF0 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 2015 | ENSIGN | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 2015 | MONTEZUMA ARPT | EF2 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2015 | INGALLS | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2015 | CIMARRON | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Gray County
- Hail 478
- Thunderstorm Wind 284
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The thunderstorm that produced this NNW moving tornado became surface based as it moved across the surface warm front. Surface temperatures at the time may have been around 50 degrees. That is pretty unusual for this part of the world at night in March.
This tornado was visible over 15 miles away. It appeared to be strong but the compact circulation stayed away from pivot sprinklers. Field debris was deposited on a power line but the poles did not come down. Mud was scoured 8 inches deep. The tornado moved into Ford county at 1553 CST.
This tornado developed on the southeast side of the cyclic supercell tornado that tracked from near Liberal to NNW of Haggard. It damaged a home that had been rebuilt from the May 24th tornado. This tornado moved into Ford county at 19:02.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Gray County, Kansas?
53 tornado events are recorded in Gray County between 1955 and 2021, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Gray County?
The strongest tornado on record in Gray County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Gray 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 Gray County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/gray-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.